Thursday, 6 February 2020

Bills

Gender Equality Bill 2019

Second reading

Debate resumed.

Ms KILKENNY (Carrum) (11:45): So why are we working so hard to bring about gender equality in Victoria and to introduce this legislation? It sets it out pretty clearly in the bill, and I think it is worth repeating: we believe all Victorians should live in a safe and equal society, we believe all Victorians should have access to equal power, resources and opportunities and we believe all Victorians should be treated with dignity, respect and fairness. This is gender equality. We are doing this and striving for it, and we are not going to stop until we achieve it, because it is the right thing to do, it is the fair thing to do and gender equality brings with it benefits to all Victorians whatever their gender. Gender equality is a basic human right. It also brings prosperity and economic, social and health benefits for Victorians. We know also, particularly from the tireless work of campaigners like Rosie Batty and so many others who contributed to the royal commission on the prevention of family violence, that gender equality is actually a precondition for the prevention of family violence and gendered violence against women and girls.

I say this following a really tragic event which happened on Tuesday afternoon. It was actually in my suburb of Seaford. It was three streets from my home. A woman was stabbed to death in her home. It was 4.40 in the afternoon. She had three children—the three children were present. A male known to the family and known to the woman has been arrested and charged. My community is angry. They are reeling from this, they are distressed, they are concerned for the welfare of the children. They want change and they deserve change, and this legislation, this bill, is part of that change—bringing about gender equality so that we end gendered violence against women and children.

Family violence is a gendered crime, full stop. I do not want to hear any more on this topic. I saw comments coming out on social media saying it is not a gendered crime. It is a gendered crime. The majority of victims are women. If we are serious about ending violence against women, and about ending family violence, then we must address gender inequality. That is not just in my suburb of Seaford. It is across all of our suburbs. It is throughout all of our communities. It is happening in our workplaces; gender inequality is in our schools, in our communities and in our sporting clubs. We must stand together. We must pass this legislation. We must do everything that we can to address gender inequality.

We are already doing so much. Victoria is leading the nation. But it has been too slow. This legislation is about standing up and saying, ‘We are now leading. We are introducing a law that is going to purposefully, decidedly and determinedly bring about a shift in our culture, in our behaviours and in the way that we deal with each other’. We are starting in the workplace, with our public authorities, with the public service, with councils, with universities. This is an extraordinary step. I am so proud to be a part of this government that is delivering on this commitment to gender equality and to ending family violence and gendered violence. I wish those on the other side would support this. This is such a good time in Victoria. We are on the right side of history, and I absolutely commend this bill to the house.

Ms COUZENS (Geelong) (11:49): I am absolutely delighted to rise to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. I am very proud to be part of the Andrews Labor government, who is delivering this significant reform, which is long overdue. I want to begin by acknowledging and thanking the amazing women who have been in our cabinet as Minister for Women, and who were responsible for this bill. I want to name the three women that have driven this. I know that there are many women that have gone before us that have achieved major, significant changes for gender equity, but I think without these three women and the work that they have done we would not be standing in this place today debating this bill. First, the late Fiona Richardson, who was the member for Northcote, worked with the government to ensure that this bill had a passage and a pathway. It was then taken up by the member for Sydenham as the Minister for Women and of course by our now current Minister for Women, who has brought this to where we are today. Their passion and commitment to gender equity in the state of Victoria is just fantastic. I want to pay special tribute to all three of those women, particularly to the current Minister for Women, who now has the job of driving this forward and delivering this significant legislation.

For me, having waited 62 years today for this, and for the many women before us who have worked so hard to achieve this, I want to congratulate all of them. I personally see this as a great achievement and one of the most significant things that this government has done. Obviously this is a first in Australia, which we should all be very proud of. This is really an historic event that we are having today, and I am happy to be doing it on my birthday.

It is also disappointing that those opposite have not given it any time, really, apart from one lead speaker. I think it is disappointing that they do not appear to have any interest in gender equality in our state, and I think that reflects on where they are at this time. I think we also need to reflect our community—51 per cent of our community are women, and we need to represent that. That is exactly what this government is doing with this legislation.

There are always excuses. We heard the lead speaker from the opposition earlier talk about all the reasons why we should not have this legislation. My view is that I have heard enough excuses as to why we should not do these things. This is something where I think many—and I know in my community as well—believe that if we do not introduce legislation, we are never going to achieve gender equality in this state. As I said, in the past we have had achievements, but I almost feel like it is one step forward and two steps back. At the moment, if we look at the international data, we are falling way behind other countries in gender equity. So, as I said, I am very proud to be standing here today, talking about this bill.

It is great to see so many women in the gallery today. I know there are women from Geelong that have come along to hear this debate. In Geelong I am very proud to say that there has been a strong commitment to seeing this bill come to fruition. Over the last probably three or four years women in Geelong from different organisations have come together to be a part of the consultation that the minister’s office has run, and the department has run, but also to look at what we need to do in Geelong to have gender equity be successful in our community.

This is about empowering women and girls in our community. One of the things I am really pleased about with this legislation is that my granddaughters will get the benefit of this legislation. This is about women in my community—the many, many women that have come along to the different forums that we have run around this bill—and what it means to them and what achievements they can gain through the content of this bill.

As a government, we wanted to hear from the broader community around what should be in the bill and what it should contain. For four years there has been consultation on this bill. So for anybody to argue that there has not been adequate consultation or that what is in the bill is not right, I would challenge that—very much so. As we heard the previous minister, the member for Sydenham, mention earlier, they ran the citizens jury. They had an enormous amount of consultation around this bill. Much of that was taken into consideration when the bill was drafted, so I am very proud that we were able to do that.

We heard the community views and the ideas about what gender equity laws should look like during those four years of consultation, and that actually helped shape the development of the bill. It was very clear from the consultations that the strong view was that sustainable gender equality would not be achieved without legislation designed to drive systematic structural and cultural change. I was really pleased to hear that because I have had that view myself, and it just reinforced what I felt and what many women in my community felt as well.

During those four years we established what we call the Geelong Gender Equity Coalition. That was made up of people from Deakin University, Gordon TAFE, Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West, Barwon Centre Against Sexual Assault, the Geelong Trades Hall, the City of Greater Geelong, Business in Heels and many others. That was a great opportunity for us to talk about gender equality and how it might roll out in Geelong. I was very proud to be part of that group, talking about the importance of gender equality and how we might roll that out.

Of course there is still a long way to go—there is no doubt about that. This bill is a step towards gender equality in Victoria, but we still have a lot more work to do. We know that women experience a gender pay gap of 9.6 per cent due to unequal workforce participation, discrimination, and insecure and low paid work. I know, very much so, in my working class city of Geelong, many women—the majority—are in in low-paid jobs and insecure work and would like to have the opportunities that their male colleagues have. But this bill is about equality for men as well, because men, more and more these days, are wanting to spend time taking care of their children, having flexible work hours, so they also will benefit from this bill. We have an expectation that the likes of councils and organisations like universities and government authorities will be required to have those policies in place to ensure that there is equity across the workforce.

I think the gender equity commissioner is critical to this legislation. The opposition’s view that we do not need it is just totally wrong. We need that monitoring. We need that person or organisation ensuring that there is compliance. Organisations will be required to report every two years and then again every four years, and I think that in itself makes it really important that those organisations will be required to respond to the legislation once it is passed and comply with the gender equity audits that will be required—looking at policy and ensuring that there is genuine equity. I know in my local government area of Geelong they have been doing a power of work on this. Obviously there is more work to do, but I am really proud that organisations in my community, including Barwon Water, Barwon Health and the Gordon TAFE—all those organisations—have already started a path towards gender equality in my community of Geelong. I am very proud of that. I know we have a long way to go, but I think this is such an important piece of legislation. I know that in my community of Geelong, young women, secondary school girls, are really keen to see this legislation pass because it does set a pathway for them in the future. I commend the bill to the house.

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (11:59): I am pleased to have the opportunity to make a contribution on this bill. It seems like in some ways it has been a very long time coming because women’s issues have been on the agenda for so long. I think back to the suffragettes and all those people in the last century and the century before who in some cases gave up their lives to fight for the right to vote and the right to own property—the right to do so much. In my lifetime, I remember in the early 1970s joining the Women’s Electoral Lobby and being involved in women’s lib and all these things. And then things go quiet a bit, and now we are in a stage where people are seeing the need to entrench this sort of legislation in the law so that it creates a framework that we can go forward with. I think that is really what this bill does. It is an impetus to everyone to think more about gender issues, about equality, and that is really the reason I support the bill.

It enshrines in legislation that ‘defined entities’, being the public sector, councils and universities, take positive action towards achieving gender equality, and it requires them to promote gender equality in their policies, their programs and their services. The bill also establishes the public sector gender equality commissioner. I agree with the member for Geelong that that is an important issue. Somebody needs to be overlooking what is going on, providing the sorts of information and frameworks that organisations will need to comply with through the legislation.

On other aspects of the bill, it requires all of those organisations I just mentioned to undertake gender impact assessments. They need to address workplace gender inequality by preparing gender equality action plans every four years, with a requirement for organisations subject to the bill to report every two years and to make reasonable and material progress in the workplace. They are required to report on the progress of the actions that they identify in those impact assessment statements.

Sometimes these things might seem like it is all over-regulation and all too hard and difficult to manage, but I think we only need to look back over a range of legislation that has come in over many years, whether it be the Victorian WorkCover Authority, WorkSafe Victoria—people used to die on worksites on a regular basis. We addressed that. We have road rules to address the issues around road safety. We have organisations that monitor and deal with that and do a lot of educational work to bring people along with the sort of legislation that gets passed, and I really see this is just an extension of that. The bill will allow the Governor in Council to make regulations for or with respect to any manner or thing associated with the bill.

Then we come to prescribed entities, which really can take it, I believe, outside the scope of those organisations that I named before. Organisations with 50 employees or more can come within the scope of the bill. I assume that those smaller organisations have been left out because of the regulatory workload that might impose for some businesses and in rural and regional areas, but I would hope that the general tenor of it throughout all organisations is adopted. Certainly I know, as a lawyer in private practice who had two children during that time and had bassinets under desks while I was seeing clients and doing all sorts of things, you can manage all sorts of things, and I certainly employed quite a few women over my years in practice during those times. You can have flexibility; you can have flexible working hours; you can work at night instead of during the day if you need to. So there are many ways of achieving it, and it is really just about having the flexibility. But in this case the legislation is actually creating an onus, and I think that is a good thing because so many people will always try and slide away from these sorts of issues.

I support the bill and what it stands for. Women comprise two-thirds of Victoria’s public sector and apparently have an 11 per cent pay gap—same work, same job—and that seems to me to be quite extraordinary in this day and age. So I am proud to be a woman in this political field here in the Victorian Parliament. I notice that the Parliamentary Elections (Women Candidates) Act 1923 received royal assent in 1924, and that act saw Lady Millie Peacock become the first female member of the Victorian Parliament. When you look around the Victorian Parliament now, it is really amazing to see the difference. Just seeing the member for Lowan before, very pregnant, talking about her experience, about the fact that she will be having a baby here in Parliament—you know, coming with her at times—and that she now feels that that is something she is supported to do; that is a terrific thing. We have seen many other women, even just in the five years I have been here, pregnant and bringing babies along with them and managing this really important role of representing our communities.

I cannot help but reflect on rural issues when I think about this bill. I was just recently at the International Dairy Week in Tatura and spoke to a group of women in the evening. In my lifetime farmers wives were called farmers wives, when really all they were were farmers. That has really changed. I think it is just a great thing that farmers are now farmers, whether they are men or women. It is that social change that comes along. If someone now says, ‘Well, she’s a farmer’s wife’, we glare at them; everyone would glare at them, because that is simply not acceptable. They are out there doing everything that the men do and have a really significant role in the management of farms. It is a really significant reflection, and just walking around in that huge arena with all these magnificent cows were so many women leading the cows, grooming the cows and taking a really active part in that whole dairying industry. It is very much an industry where women take a very significant role. To all the women who have gone before us, in so many fields, I think we really have a debt of gratitude to them, because they have made every step of the way that bit easier for us, and here we are now passing legislation that really recognises a lot of the hard work that has previously been done.

The bill seeks to remove the systemic causes of gender inequality in policies, programs and services in our workplaces, and I think without some form of target, then that notion of gender equality becomes quite hard to really take up, keep at front of mind and pursue. I recall being on other boards when we had to talk about carbon emissions. You had to actually have evidence that you were doing something to achieve a certain amount of carbon emissions reduction at one time in history. A lot of these things come and go, but that was no less a burden. This is even more significant, in that it is about relations between the genders, and it is about women having an opportunity to go forward.

The bill, I think, sort of proceeds in some ways a lot of the work that has been done. When I think about the district of Shepparton I can refer to steps that have already been taken. In 2018 the Greater Shepparton City Council developed the Gender Equity Strategy and Action Plan 2018–2020, really as an internal document and a tool to sort of encourage workplace equality and foster cultural change. Moira shire, in my electorate, appointed an officer specifically for that task. The Greater Shepparton Family Violence Prevention Network, as part of the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, held an event that really promoted the notion of gender equality and being able to talk about it openly. The Greater Shepparton Women’s Charter Advisory Committee is a really active organisation that tries to promote more women going into leadership roles, into local government and also into workplaces, community groups and local boards of management. There are many organisations in our region, I am pleased to say, because I think often in rural areas people think we are behind the times. But there is actually a lot going on out there, and we are right up with it and working hard towards those things.

Ms THOMAS (Macedon) (12:09): It is with great pride that I stand today to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. I am happy to be following the member for Shepparton and to just also reflect on it as a member in this place representing regional Victoria, of course, in the week that we have celebrated the great achievements of the Cain government, one of which was the establishment of the Rural Women’s Network, a great network and a great group that really encouraged women to own their role as farmers, to identify as farmers and to break down those barriers. It is a very important network that was of course defunded by the member for Murray Plains, the Leader of the National Party, when the coalition came to power in 2010.

As I said, in the week that we have celebrated John Cain and all that has been achieved, it is timely to remember that it is only Labor governments that ever make advances in the interests of women and girls, and this is yet again one of those. It is a great milestone in the interests of girls and women. At this point I would like to say how delighted I am that there are so many young women in the gallery today. As someone who has been around a while, this is really a great Labor legacy, and it is for the young women in our community that we rise today.

It is also extremely important in this current climate to note that a person who is a victim blamer and an apologist for child sex abusers has received an Australia Day honour. Can I call out our Attorney-General for her work in bringing the attention of the nation to the mistreatment of our nation’s greatest honours. I support her in her call for Bettina Arndt to be stripped of that honour.

In the Labor Party we are always ready for the backlash that accompanies true reform, and we have certainly seen it with our once-in-a-generation family violence reforms. But we will not be deterred from doing what is the right thing, and that is to make the world a more equal and fairer place. So I am very proud of the Andrews Labor government’s record, and I am going to take you through some of the highlights. We have consistently pursued gender equality in the five years that we have been in office, and I want to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the achievements. Of course there is our world-leading Royal Commission into Family Violence. We are still the only party that is fully committed to the implementation of every single one of the 227 recommendations of that royal commission. I might take this opportunity to make the point that there is scarcely anyone here from the opposition to challenge me on that, because there is currently only one member of the Liberal Party in the house. Let the record also reflect that there has only been one speaker from the coalition on this bill, the member for Lowan—of course a National Party member—so there have been no speakers from the Liberal Party on this bill.

Of course arising from the royal commission we have established Family Safety Victoria and established the family violence prevention agency Respect Victoria, which is leading the brilliant campaign Respect Women: Call It Out. We have introduced Respectful Relationships in schools, again opposed by those on the other side and yet welcomed by every school in my community. We have passed legislation that will enable the deregistering of Wicked Campers and any other vehicle that carries offensive and derogatory slogans primarily directed at women.

Of course here in Victoria so much of what we do is identified by our passion for sport. What I have really been so proud of, the difference it has made on the ground, is our absolute commitment to ensuring that women in sport are supported and encouraged to play and that they are recognised. Here is a small thing but something I feel very passionate about as a young woman who was required to wear either a skirt or a dress during her entire schooling: in fact government schools are now required to provide all girls with a uniform option of pants and shorts—thank goodness for that—so that young girls can stay healthy and active, get on the monkey bars, swing upside down, be creative and feel free to be themselves.

We have established the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, and we have backed the This Girl Can campaign. We have built more than 150 female-friendly facilities across the state, including in my own electorate. We have got right behind elite competitions, including the AFLW. I might take this opportunity to note that the member for Brighton, who was previously in the house for a short time but has left now, has invited Tayla Harris to Parliament next week for a function that he is having. Why is he not using the opportunity that this bill presents to rise up and call out the appalling sexist, sexualised treatment of that great female champion? In fact let us be clear. Tayla Harris identified her experience of what happened to her as feeling sexually abused by the comments that were made on social media. So I say to the absent member for Brighton: why are you not on your feet using this opportunity to call out those people who use social media to denigrate and abuse women in ways that would never, ever, ever happen to men?

The $7.2 million Change our Game campaign is helping to level the playing field for women and girls in all sports and across every field of recreation, and of course there is a record investment to rebuild the State Netball and Hockey Centre. Let us not forget that netball is still the number one sport played by girls and women, and it is this government that is making sure that our netballers have the highest quality facilities available to them. In another interesting development down at the State Netball and Hockey Centre, the Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade has also worked with the contractors to ensure that lots of women are being employed on that project. Half of the contractors’ project staff are women, as are three of the four staff from Development Victoria’s project team. Kane Constructions has also pledged to maximise female participation on the project while encouraging subcontractors to do the same.

We know that women account for just 17 per cent of construction jobs and less than 6 per cent of technical and trade roles. Why are we encouraging women into these roles? Because we want women to have their fair share of the well-paid and secure jobs that currently exist in our state. So I am really delighted about this. Of course we have set targets for women’s participation and employment in the CFA and the MFB.

We have released a sexual and reproductive health strategy. We are raising awareness about endometriosis and menopause with new resources to encourage women to recognise the symptoms and ensure that they are getting the best health care that they need. This is the government that introduced safe access zones for women seeking terminations and other sexual health services here in Victoria. We are also ensuring that girls at school have access to free pads and tampons. Again this is about destigmatising menstruation and ensuring that girls are encouraged to participate fully at school at all times. This is of course on top of a commitment to ensure that no less than 50 per cent of government board and judicial appointments are women, a commitment that we have already delivered on, and a gender-equal cabinet—certainly an impressive list of achievements, and these are only some.

I look to the opposition benches. There is no-one here. Let it be noted that the member for Ferntree Gully is the only member here. This is a government that supports both equality and diversity, and this is what happens when 48 per cent of your MPs are women. This is a party that is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring equality for women, and I would say to you, member for Ferntree Gully: how is merit working out for you over there? How is merit working out for you now? You have an opportunity. A member for Eastern Metropolitan Region is retiring from this place, but apparently, according to all the reports, there are no meritorious women in the whole of Eastern Metropolitan who are members of the Liberal Party.

I am going to conclude. Firstly, I need to acknowledge the ministers who have worked so hard to deliver this once-in-a-lifetime bill to this place: the Minister for Women and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence; the member for Dandenong, who has been here for the whole of the debate today, I note, which is terrific; and of course the preceding ministers, the member for Sydenham and the late Fiona Richardson.

But can I finish on this note: apparently one of the Liberal Party’s challenges is that it is indeed our fault, the Labor Party’s fault, that there are so few Liberal women in this place because, as a member for Western Metropolitan Region in the other place said:

If the Labor Party and the Greens want to have more women in the Liberal Party—

Mr Wakeling: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I appreciate that the member is on her feet, she is on a roll and she is trying to play it out, but this is not a bill about the Liberal Party, and I ask the member to come back to the bill.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. The member for Macedon has concluded.

Mr PALLAS (Werribee—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (12:19): I suppose one of the things we do learn—and I have been under a fair degree of tutelage about this—is that interrupting women when they are making a point is a clear sign of our embedded approach to gender and respect. Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, once said:

I know reform is never easy. But I know reform is right.

Another great reformer and champion of gender equity, the late great John Cain, once said that if you have the choice between the hard thing to do and the easy thing to do, always choose the right thing to do. This is not only the right thing to do; this legislation is a moral, a social and an economic imperative. The Andrews Labor government is determined to drive change and to take a lead role in championing gender equality. Australia’s first gender equality bill delivers on our election commitment to introduce legislation to eliminate the pay gap and to boost women’s workforce participation. The bill requires public sector organisations with 50 or more employees to publicly report on their progress towards achieving equal pay, ensuring better access to flexible work arrangements and preventing sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

In Australia part-time work is an established practice, but flexible work is hardly the norm. One of the biggest barriers to a more flexible workplace is a lack of understanding about the bottom-line benefits to business. In 2018 the Andrews Labor government commissioned a study modelling financial returns on flexible work. It found that flexible work delivered significant savings across organisations. The objective was to provide evidence of the value of flexible work practices not just in terms of social responsibility but also for the bottom line. This work was part of our firm commitment to address gender equality in the workplace. In Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning the estimated saving was $135 million over five years. To any Treasurer in any state that is a good business case for change and one well worth pursuing in this Parliament.

The bill establishes a public sector gender equality commissioner who will have the power to undertake dispute resolution in relation to systemic gender equality issues—the first dispute resolution function of its kind in this nation. Disputes arising under an enterprise agreement or workplace determination that relate to a systemic gender equality issue in a public sector body may be referred to the commissioner. The commissioner can deal with a dispute as they consider appropriate, except by arbitration or by making a binding determination. This may include mediation, conciliation or indeed making a recommendation or expressing an opinion. The bill also creates a power for the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, in consultation with the Minister for Women, to develop and issue funding guidelines to promote or advance gender equality—a profoundly valuable and worthwhile initiative.

As part of our commitment to promote the human rights of workers, the Andrews Labor government is making significant progress towards gender equality. The gender pay gap in the Victorian public service has almost halved since this government came to office, falling from just over 6 per cent to just over 3 per cent. We are making gains towards having 50 per cent women in executive public service roles and 50 per cent female membership on government boards.

Ms Williams: Fifty-three per cent right now.

Mr PALLAS: I am now advised that we have got there: over 53 per cent female membership on government boards. We move so quickly, this government.

Last year I was proud to launch Victoria’s first Women in Construction Strategy to encourage more women to consider a career in construction. In 2020, 48 per cent of Labor MPs are women, compared to only 19 per cent of Victorian Liberal MPs. For the first time in the state’s history half of the Victorian cabinet are women. I acknowledge the Minister for Women here at the table with me and the outstanding work that she has done on this bill. We are proud of this effort, and we are proud as a government that we continue to strive to improve our efforts through things such as the introduction of this bill. Victoria’s first female Premier, Joan Kirner, insisted that ‘women be judged by their contribution—not somebody’s view of what they should be about’.

Although labour force participation continues to rise to record heights in Victoria, women’s workforce participation remains lower than men’s. Unconscious bias continues to infiltrate both promotion and recruitment. Gendered segregation of roles entrenches stereotypes, and it also inhibits productive workplace cultures. This bill will enhance workplace productivity and address current and future skill shortages. It will make it easier for over 300 000 Victorians to enjoy a workplace that is both fair and equitable across all genders. A woman’s place is wherever she wants to be.

As Minister for Industrial Relations I would like to thank the Equal Workplaces Advisory Council for their important contribution to the development of this bill. I know through the discussions that I have had with them the passion that they have demonstrated to see that the government not only produces the words but delivers the substantive effort necessary to remove some of the entrenched and sometimes insidious ways that not only the formal practices of government but also the informal practices have created barriers so that they can be most appropriately addressed. Those cultural changes are critically important as part of this, and that is why I think the commissioner’s role will be so vitally important in the long term. I commend the bill to the Assembly and I look forward to it passing into law.

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (12:27): It gives me great pleasure to follow the Treasurer on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. I note that I think he is the first male speaker on this bill. Thank you so much for the work that you have done as Treasurer during my time in Parliament, unlike the other side. I think that anyone who votes for the conservative side of politics, or thinks about it, should actually be looking at this chamber right now. We have one Independent, the member for Shepparton, sitting on this side of the house and one Liberal Party member, a male member. That tells you absolutely everything that you need to know about gender equality on the conservative side of politics in this place in the 21st century and more broadly. I think we have also seen examples of that in Canberra only this week with the reshuffle and the appointment of new ministers. Women do not get supported within the conservative parties as individuals, and they do not get supported in policy. Every time they get on the government benches—

Mr Wakeling: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I do appreciate that this is a wideranging debate, but this is not an opportunity for the member to be talking about the opposition. This is an opportunity for the member to talk about the bill that is before the house, not an opportunity to attack the opposition, which appears to be a pattern, unfortunately, of some of the speakers—some of the speakers, I should say.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member is making references to other levels of Parliament, and that is perfectly acceptable. I ask the member to continue.

Ms GREEN: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I think that interruption and that point of order goes to the heart of what the Liberal Party do in this chamber. They disproportionately interrupt women speakers when they are on their feet. It is exactly what the member for Ferntree Gully did to the member for Macedon—and does almost any time I am on my feet. I wear it as a badge of honour that he wants to interrupt what I have got to say. I am sure the member for Eltham wears it as a badge of honour. I am sure that the member for Yuroke wears it as a badge of honour—and particularly the member for Macedon. Almost every time there is a quorum called or an interruption, it is a government female member who is on her feet. You will be defined by your actions—your actions in opposition and your actions in government. We are absolutely proud to be bringing this Gender Equality Bill before the house this week, and I think it is so, so fitting following the condolence motion on Tuesday for the late great John Cain. Some of us had the great privilege—and there were many members of the opposition there—to be at the memorial service, and I just wish they had listened and learned from the amazing achievements that particularly Mary Crooks in her eulogy went through that were the achievements of the Cain government.

One of those was the establishment of the Rural Women’s Network. Contextually, that network exists now. I am the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Victoria. I grew up in regional Victoria. I commend the member for Shepparton on her contribution when she talked about what gender equality means for women in regional areas, as did the member for Macedon. That network was an amazing opening of so many doors to women in regional areas in the 1980s. It was an absolute lifeline for those women in the 1980s and 90s. I saw it firsthand because I actually worked as a public servant in the network for a short period of time, and I was the editor of the magazine. That magazine actually had a circulation of around 20 000 at its peak.

Of course when the Kennett government got into office they were afraid of the political power of the network. They sought to diminish its significance by shifting it to Ballarat under the guise of saying that they wanted it to operate in Ballarat, but it was essentially to get rid of the progressive women who were actually working in the network. I was one of those, and because I had young children I actually could not move to Ballarat. I was put on the redeployment list, and that was one of four occasions. On the fourth occasion I thought, ‘If the Government Printer isn’t the worst place for women or any public servant to work, I won’t find out what is’. There were so many women in leadership who lost their jobs during that dreadful period, and it was a dreadful period of upheaval around the Employee Relations Act. It was actually an offence for any public servant to divulge to the person they were sitting next to—doing the same job—what their pay was. And of course what do you do you think happened then? The rate of pay for women plummeted. The rate of women in senior roles plummeted.

When the Bracks government came to office with a huge number of women and women in the ministry—perish the thought; there had only been three in the Kennett era—we had a job to do to undo that damage and replace the human capital. Of course they always cut in health and education, which disproportionately has women employed. We saw great support for women and improvements around women throughout the Bracks and Brumby governments, and then, as the member for Macedon remarked, what happened to the Rural Women’s Network during the Baillieu and Napthine governments? The Rural Women’s Network ceased to exist. Firstly, it was diminished. It no longer had a paper magazine; it was online. The then member for Bayswater was the Minister for Women’s Affairs, and she thought this would make it more accessible. Obviously she did not know about the digital divide, particularly for women on farms in regional areas, so she did not speak up at all.

I want to commend a magnificent work experience student, Bella Tatchell-Pittman, who was at school in Hamilton and grew up in Warrnambool. She was on work experience with me and came to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women awards during this period. It had so gotten to the point of ridiculous that they could not even manage to have a woman compere for the awards. This was during Heidi Victoria’s tenure as the minister for women. David Mann from 3AW is a good bloke and he does a lot of good work in emergency services, but to have him compere the Victorian women’s honour roll and stand up and go, ‘I’m David Mann from 3AW—Mann about town’, this 16-year-old called it out. The emperor had no clothes. She said, ‘Why have they got a man compering this thing?’. The women who were there who were being added to the honour roll were so appalled.

But it got worse. Not only did the Rural Women’s Network go online, but then it was completely shut down by the Leader of the National Party. So absolutely, what you do in opposition and what you do in government defines you, and 51 per cent of the population of this state are women and girls. Before the member for Macedon was rudely interrupted, I did want to repeat the words of a member for Western Metropolitan Region in the other place:

If the Labor Party and the Greens want to have more women in the Liberal Party, what they should have done is not defeated them, that would have been a very good thing if they hadn’t run against our women.

That was Bernie Finn in 2018. I am glad I have got that on the record now for the member for Macedon. We have a current vacancy for the position of Mary Wooldridge, who had to fight for her own political life; let us not forget that. She was knocked off by the member for Kew and so had to move houses—they were so afraid that she might go for the leadership. Now that talented woman is leaving the Parliament. Will there be a woman come in? No, there will not. There is only one who has put her hand up. The mayor of Nillumbik was rumoured to be putting her hand up—Karen Egan—and I believe she was bullied out of it by the deputy mayor, Peter Clarke, who has an appalling record against women, bullying women in the community and trying to bully me. Every time I say something he takes me to privileges—

Mr Wakeling: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, if the member is wishing to make aspersions against members of the public, she needs to be very careful about the comments she makes. Again I repeat my call: she needs to limit the debate to the bill before the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member’s time has expired.

Ms HORNE (Williamstown—Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Public Transport) (12:37): I rise to make a contribution on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. What I would like to recognise today is the number of young women who are sitting in the gallery, who are here to actually see landmark legislation. So well done, and well done on participating in the democratic process.

I would also like to follow on from the member for Yan Yean’s contribution in talking about this bill, and I cannot begin to speak about this bill without talking about Joan Kirner, another former Premier of this place. Women on this side of the Parliament owe a particular debt of gratitude to the former Premier and representative of my district now of Williamstown. Kay Setches and Joan set up EMILY’s List, an organisation to nurture and fund progressive women candidates for office. As a proud member of EMILY’s List I think it has been the catalyst for success for so many women, and it is in this tradition that this bill comes before us today.

At present there is an 11 per cent pay gap across the Victorian public sector, and although women comprise two-thirds of the Victorian public sector, they account for less than 44 per cent of public sector executives. They are concentrated in the lower paid jobs and are more likely than men to be paid at the lowest end of the salary scale. Whilst Victoria has laws that prevent discrimination based on gender, there is currently no law to proactively drive gender equality. This bill presents an opportunity to improve gender equality in the Victorian public sector workplaces and across the wider community.

The bill supports the achievement of workplace gender equality in the Victorian public sector, universities and councils through contributing to closing the gender pay gap by targeting its key drivers; improving gender equality at all levels of the workforce; reducing gendered workforce segregation; providing greater availability and uptake of family violence leave, flexible work and parental leave arrangements; reducing sexual harassment in the workplace as well as cases of discrimination during pregnancy, parental leave or return to work; and improving the equity in recruitment and promotion practices. As a former executive in the public sector, being able to have that legislative framework that encourages women—being able to say, ‘Here is an opportunity before you women to be able to take up and stand equal to your male colleagues’—is absolutely fundamental to driving that diversity in the public sector.

This bill will also progress gender equality in the wider community by requiring organisations subject to the bill to consider the gendered impact of policies, programs and services that have a direct and significant impact on the public, ensuring that these programs and services meet community needs. It will require that the Victorian public sector, local councils and universities take positive actions towards achieving workplace gender equality, requiring these organisations to consider and promote gender equality in their policies, programs and services. It will establish a public sector gender equality commissioner to undertake education and implementation support functions as well as monitoring, compliance and enforcement functions.

I know from experience that it is not just having that framework. It is also the education policy that is so important: being able to say to men who are in leadership positions in the public sector and those types of organisations, ‘It’s not just about providing equal opportunity; it’s actually looking into your workforce’; being able to go in there and say, ‘Where are the gaps? Where can women make a contribution?’; and actively going out there and recruiting them and then providing them with the opportunities to flourish. That is precisely what the items in this bill will do.

One of the key things that we are doing in the transport portfolio is setting up a Women in Transport program. It was set up in 2017, and it covers the entire transport portfolio. It is the first of its kind in Australia. The initial investment was $1.1 million, but it has now grown to more than $2 million. We have developed 15 program initiatives to encourage more women to enter and to stay in transport—and that is everything from undergraduate scholarships to mentoring for engineers and quotas for rail and infrastructure apprentices. And, young women, if you are looking for a job in transport, can I say there has never been a better time to get out there and look in those traditionally male-dominated industries.

The aim, through the Women in Transport program, was to increase the number of women in transport from 16 per cent in 2017 to 25 per cent in 2020 and to lift the number of women in senior roles in the public sector to 50 per cent. Women in Transport partners with the Asset Management Council of Australia for mentoring; the Monash University PhD scholarships; the Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship Foundation, with six undergrad scholarships for disadvantaged young women to study in transport-related fields; and Women & Leadership Australia, with programs for 36 women.

In ports and freight and in public transport we now have 50-50 gender representation on boards. That includes port corporations and V/Line. The Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria board is all women. The Level Crossing Removal Project Training for the Future program and the Department of Transport trainee and cadet programs have 50 per cent targets for women’s participation. Since 2017 the program has achieved a women’s participation rate of 43 per cent.

In 2017 only 10 per cent of all rail signalling cadets were women; now 30 per cent are. The Level Crossing Removal Project’s engineering pathway, which started a few months ago, will target women who are refugees and asylum seekers. Forty-four per cent of the 4000 people working at the Department of Transport are now women. The transport portfolio—which includes bus, train and tram operators, the public sector and its agencies and project teams that are part of the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority—employs about 25 000 people. Thirty-eight per cent of senior leadership positions at the Department of Transport are held by women. At public transport operators it is 21 per cent.

A great workforce reflects the people it serves. We can only deliver the best transport for Victorians if we find and retain the best people for the job from 100 per cent of the population. Our new franchising agreements included a requirement that both our partners work towards 40 per cent of all staff being women.

In conclusion, we have made strides forward, but there is still a long way to go. This bill presents a remarkable opportunity to proactively drive gender equality. This presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get this right, to put our ethics into action and to make real change. I commend this bill to the house.

Ms RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (12:45): Whilst I rise to contribute to this debate with great honour and recognise that the Gender Equality Bill 2019 is a terrific step forward, it is also with a heavy heart that I am conscious that this bill is about so much more than gender equity. This bill will promote gender equity, because we know—and the science is crystal clear—that it is gender inequality that is the disease at the base of the scourge of family violence in this state.

This bill promotes gender equality in the community by considering how policies, programs and services can impact people of different genders. It has been developed to improve workplace gender equality. This bill requires the Victorian public sector, councils and universities to take positive action towards achieving workplace gender equality, and of course it will require defined entities to develop a gender equality action plan every four years. It will require these entities to promote gender equality in the workplace based on the results of gender audits and prepare public progress reports every two years. It will compel entities to promote gender equality in their policies, programs and services through completing gender impact statements. It will, importantly, establish the public sector gender equality commissioner to embark on monitoring, compliance and enforcement. The person that plays this role is fundamental to this bill; we have heard from those opposite, and I can assure you that organisations need to be held to account, and this person will have the power to do that. The Gender Equality Bill will apply to public service organisations with 50 or more employees and will cover 300 organisations. That will make up 11 per cent of the Victorian workforce, and I am delighted to assure the community it will apply to women and men across all levels of organisations. This bill creates a series of gender equality principles.

I am delighted that once again we are fulfilling a commitment made by the Andrews Labor government. We stand on the shoulders of women who have come before us. Although I am only recently arrived in this place, I am very conscious of the legacy of the previous incredibly hard-working ministers who have been involved in the development of this—of course, Fiona Richardson, and earlier we had a contribution from the member for Sydenham, a woman legendary for her wisdom, her hard work and her capacity for getting things done.

Of course, we have in the chamber now the member for Dandenong, who is the Minister for Women. Being a minister is not just about making incredibly important speeches with gravitas, and I acknowledge that she does that. It is actually about incredibly detailed policy work of good governance. It is the heavy lifting of good government, and this minister has done this work in collaboration with the sector. We have listened to the community; we have listened to those with expertise and to those who give us the science that we need to make good public policy, something that has been important in this chamber this week, I must say.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the hardworking people of the public service—of course there is always the minister’s office—and those women whose shoulders we stand on, many of whom join us today. You must have wondered if this would ever come about. I congratulate you all, and I am pleased that you are here. We celebrate your contribution to this bill before us. This bill is here because of you.

We heard earlier this week impassioned contributions about the late John Cain and his emphasis on deep policy work. We know that we need to be courageous, and we need to channel John Cain sometimes. We need to raise awareness sometimes, because that can be effective. Sometimes the community evolves, which is always good when the march of progress means change, but it is not enough. We need to use the levers of government to make change, because we need to compel people to make change.

In four years of detailed consultations across all sectors, public, private and not-for-profit, 935 people and organisations have expressed their view, and I am sure many in the chamber today have been included in that. This is hard work, and this government has been very clear. I am very pleased, always, to point to our record: 50 per cent of this government’s cabinet are women, and 50 per cent of appointments to government boards, as we heard earlier, are women.

Ms Williams: Fifty-three per cent.

Ms RICHARDS: Fifty-three per cent—yes, of course. And we are now requiring 50 per cent of court appointments to be women. Forty-eight per cent of the caucus are women, and many are here today. The scoreboard is clear. Equality is not negotiable.

I would also like to acknowledge the wise friendship I have with the member for Carrum, and the deep fury we discussed this morning when news came through of another tragic murder. We did discuss, early this morning, that deep fury and whether I ought also to acknowledge the pain of the families in Cranbourne. I choose not to name the man, but a terrible situation reached our courts this week, so it is with great sadness and fury that I honour the family of the women of Cranbourne who were murdered at the hands of people with whom they should have felt safe.

I have said before that my mother was a family violence worker, and I should say that at 88 she is still a person who campaigns to eradicate this scourge of family violence. Channelling my mother—with my mother’s voice very clearly in my ear only couple of hours ago—I am conscious that we stand shoulder to shoulder with so many people who fought and celebrated this government’s commitment to implement all 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, backed with a $2.9 billion investment.

We have listened to the experts who have told us that family violence is a gendered crime. The family violence royal commission told us that Victoria needed to establish a culture of non-violence and gender equality if we were to shape appropriate attitudes towards women. I read back on some contributions made by Jesuit Social Services, and I thank Julie Edwards for allowing me to use their insights. Gender inequality, Jesuit Social Services tell me, refers to how:

… narrow, rigid gender norms and stereotypes limit individuals and groups of both men and women, thereby preventing them from living fulfilling and productive lives where they can flourish and reach their full potential.

Gender inequality is problematic for both men and women. Gender norms and expectations that have historically limited women’s participation in public life and the workforce, and today see high rates of violence against women perpetrated by men, are also having a detrimental impact on men and boys.

In my role of serving and representing the Cranbourne community I have been grateful for the wise counsel of organisations who likewise serve the people in my neighbourhood, and I would like to thank Kit McMahon from Women’s Health in the South East for taking me on that journey. She tells me that this bill is historic and that as an industry and as a community they are taking the time to recognise this and the leadership that is occurring. This bill is significant for all people in Victoria. The jury is in. We know that gender equality is important for everyone.

The leadership shown today is a profound contribution to all Victorians, their health and their wellbeing. I would like to thank Wellsprings for Women, an organisation I often turn to when people come to see me in my electorate. I know it is one that also serves Dandenong as well. Wellsprings for Women recognised the importance of the introduction of the Gender Equality Bill. They say to me that as a grassroots, women-specific organisation operating in Victoria’s multicultural cities they view this bill as a significant step forward towards achieving substantive gender equality and social inclusion.

So I will report back to the women of Cranbourne, to the people in this community that I represent. But I would like to finish my contribution by dedicating this to Amanda Harris, to her mother and her children, to her neighbours who have suffered terribly and to the women of Cranbourne, because people in Cranbourne deserve better, as they all do across this state. I wish this bill a speedy passage, and I thank the minister for bringing it to us today.

Ms EDWARDS (Bendigo West) (12:55): Indeed as the member for Cranbourne said, this is an historic moment in this Parliament but also for the state of Victoria. It gives me great pleasure to speak on this Gender Equality Bill 2019. Our children, our children’s children and their children will look back on this day and say, ‘What a great thing this Victorian Parliament did’. Of course, this is Australia’s first gender equality bill. It has not happened anywhere else, and that is for a reason. That is because this progressive Andrews Labor government knows that the people of Victoria expect us to make sure that every woman, every man, every person in this state has equality.

When we came to government in 2014—and of course I was elected in 2010; this is my 10th year in this place—I never, ever thought at that time that I would actually be speaking on a bill such as this. Of course, Speaker, as you know, me being your deputy for the last few years, it gave me cause to reflect on previous women in this place. Prior to 1933 no woman had been elected to the Victorian Parliament, and until 1979 no woman had been elected to the Legislative Council. Pauline Toner, of course, was the first woman, in the Cain government, to be a minister, and our wonderful Joan Kirner was the first woman Premier.

I also had cause to reflect on Judy Maddigan, our first woman Deputy Speaker and Speaker in the Legislative Assembly, and Monica Gould, the first woman President. That was in 2003, just 17 years ago. How far we have come, but how far we still have to go. The day after Judy Maddigan was elected as the first woman Speaker of the Legislative Assembly a letter appeared in both the Herald Sun and the Age of 26 February 2003. It was written by a man, and it was titled ‘Feminist insult’:

The election, or rather Labor majority appointment, of Judy Maddigan as the Speaker of Victoria’s Legislative Assembly is an insult to the people of Victoria and the tradition of one of our nation’s oldest political houses. In appointing Maddigan, a self-proclaimed feminist radical, Steve Bracks has again bowed to his socialist superiors.

Maddigan, who refuses to be addressed as Madam Speaker and has snubbed the centuries-old dress of her office—

he said—

is bad news for the Parliament and bad news for the people of Victoria.

Judy said afterwards that she assumed that this gentleman was not a great supporter of the Labor Party, but she also copied the letter and hung it in her office so people could have a good laugh on the way in. I never forget and I am constantly reminded that all women, whether it be in this place and indeed those in the public service, in councils or in our universities, as the member for Cranbourne said, ride on the shoulders of great and progressive women who have come before us. Nevertheless, cultural change can be very, very slow, and progress on gender equality is too slow. It has not kept pace with the changing lives of women, the needs of women or the ambition of women, let alone the skills of women. Here today, with this legislation, we have an opportunity to be on the right side of history and create change—cultural change, generational change—that is so needed and to cast the dinosaurs and attitudes of the past aside.

Obviously I will have an opportunity to continue my speech after lunch, so I will continue with it then. But I just want to say how proud I am of the Minister for Women at the table and of those who have come before us—of course the late Fiona Richardson, who set this in motion and then sadly has never been able to see it, but I know she would be looking down on us and being very proud, and the member for Sydenham, our former Minister for Women. Without great leadership in this space, including our Premier, this bill would not be before the house.

The SPEAKER: Order! Now is an appropriate time to break for lunch.

Sitting suspended 1.00 pm until 2.01 pm.

Ms EDWARDS: It is a great pleasure to continue my contribution to this historic piece of legislation, the Gender Equality Bill 2019. During the break I was reflecting on how I had mentioned about riding on the shoulders of the women who had come before us, and I recalled that just two or three weeks ago the Minister for Women joined me in Castlemaine to mark a very extraordinary event that occurred on 22 January 1856. On this day, a woman of African heritage and a property owner in Castlemaine cast the first vote of any woman in Australia at what is now the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine. Just a few weeks ago on 22 January we marked that important occasion with a memorial stone in the Castlemaine cemetery for Frances ‘Fanny’ Finch.

This was a remarkable woman. She was someone who owned property—indeed she was a brothel owner, but nevertheless she knew that she had every right to vote. It occurred to me what an extraordinary feat that was: to walk into a polling booth, most likely filled with men, and to say, ‘I am here to cast a vote in this local council election’, and she did. Nevertheless, of course the legislation was changed not too long afterwards to ensure that no woman would ever do that again. Fortunately we have come a long way since then, but I think it is a reminder that there were women even over 140 years ago who actually pushed the boundaries in relation to gender equality, and Frances ‘Fanny’ Finch was just one of them.

In reflecting on this bill I noticed that it was drafted in relation to specifically improving the outlook for women in employment. I also recall that many years ago, when my late husband was quite ill, my four children were very young and we were pretty financially strapped, a decision was made that I needed to go and work. I got a few interviews, and during one of those interviews the employers asked me a question. I reflect now on whether that question would be asked today or not. I suspect if it is not asked, it is probably still considered and even thought about. The question was: how will you be able to manage a sick husband and four children and be able to work? At the time I was a bit flummoxed, I suppose, and I did not really give a response, but I reflect now on—I mean, obviously even back then it was an inappropriate question—how many employers today are still thinking that, if not asking the question, in their minds when they are interviewing women, particularly women who have children or who are in difficult family circumstances. That should have no impact on a woman’s ability to do a job.

I think what this bill does is it sends a message not just to women but to men and to boys and to girls that women can be strong, they can be influential, they can be talented and they can be leaders too—in any field. I think it is about encouraging girls to self-nominate for leadership positions at school. It is about encouraging these young girls to be proficient on the sporting field and to get out there and have a go in the media and in our public life, and it says that women can and women will. It also, as has been mentioned, better reflects the community that we represent.

I also reflected on the fact that it is kind of sad that we have to legislate to make this happen, that it is kind of sad that cultural change is not so immediate that we have moved so far and advanced so far that women do not have to face the barriers that we have in employment, in our social lives and in sporting arenas. While we have achieved gender parity on pay on government boards and we have improved the number of women in Parliament, particularly on this side of the house and in our cabinet, as I said, there is still a long way to go. This bill is about ensuring that that progress happens much quicker. It is about ensuring that gender equality is for all of us. We have to start by getting this right in our own backyard, because if we do not, then there will be no-one else to lead the way for the women and girls and the men and boys to come, who will reflect on this and go, ‘Well, actually that made a big difference to my life’.

It moves us from a position of just goodwill and having the best intentions to real action, and real action is what will make a big difference. As I said, progress has been too slow for women, and while myself and other women on this side of the house find ourselves in significant positions, for others there is a need to bring that cultural shift forward faster. I commend the bill to the house.

Ms SETTLE (Buninyong) (14:07): It is with great pride that I rise to speak in support of the Gender Equality Bill 2019. This truly is a historic moment in Victoria and indeed in Australia. We are the only jurisdiction in the country to have such legislation before us. For me this is the achievement of a childhood dream. I was a young girl in the 1970s, and I was blessed to have an extraordinarily strong and progressive mother. My mother, Christine Forster, was a pioneer. She is a scientist. Her graduating physics class at Melbourne University in the 1950s was made up of just 5 per cent women. In the late 1960s we lived in Darwin and my mother worked at the Northern Territory administration in the water branch. I remember her coming home one Christmas with a photo taken at the Australian Water Association conference, and there were 50 men in safari suits and just my mother. I was enormously proud of her then and still am. As a young girl I wondered then, ‘Where are all the other women in that photo?’. I imagined a photo made up of equal men and women, much like the caucus photo that we took at the beginning of this term.

In 1970 my mother left an abusive marriage and we planned to move to Canberra. She had been appointed to a middle-ranking position in the public service. We left Darwin and drove to Melbourne, just my mother and her three children. But we got becalmed in Melbourne because her appointment had been disputed by a man who missed out on the job. He claimed that he was better qualified despite her excellent degree and many years in the field in the Northern Territory water branch. She fought it, and while she fought it, we lived in Melbourne for six months. She worked in a restaurant doing dishes while she fought for her position in the public service. She won—because she usually does—and we moved to Canberra. When we got to Canberra, after some time she decided to buy a house for her family—her three children and her—and she was refused a mortgage by the ANZ bank solely and explicitly because she was a single mother. This is despite the fact that she had a secure, well-paid public service job. In my inaugural speech I thanked my mother and all the women of her generation that forged the path so that I could stand here today, and today I would again like to thank them, as this bill began with their courageous paths.

Now, the 1970s may seem a long time ago, especially to some of the younger people in the gallery, but sadly sexism in the workforce is not yet a distant memory. Every woman in this house will know the casual sexism that women in the public eye face constantly. Several months ago I had the pleasure of joining my colleague the member for Wendouree to present a W-class tram to the Ballarat Tramway Museum. The local newspaper, the Courier, ran a photo of us standing with the tram. My Liberal opponent in the 2018 election and a staff member of the member for Ripon commented on the Facebook page of the Courier that he could not tell which was the ‘old rattler’. It is these small and constant snipes that must be called out.

When it comes to gender equality, we know that there is plenty of work that still needs to be done. Australian women working full-time are still earning on average $244 less per week than men. Just 65 per cent of women in Victoria aged between 20 and 74 participate in the workforce compared to 79 per cent of men, leaving a participation gap of 14 per cent. Women currently spend almost twice as much time undertaking caring or domestic duties. I am ashamed to say—and he will kill me for this—that when my youngest son Sam was very young, about six or seven years old, we were at home and I asked him to tidy up after himself, to clean something. I said, ‘I won’t always be here to tidy up after you. You’ve got to learn to do it yourself’. He turned around and said, ‘No, Mum, I’ll get a wife’. He has learned since then, I can assure you, but we really do still undertake too much of the domestic duties, and it is beholden on women like me, the mother of two sons, to make sure that I teach them that they have just as much of a responsibility around the house.

Women are still under-represented in decision-making roles across our community, which contributes to workplace cultures and norms which inherently disadvantage women. We know that more than half of working women are likely to face gendered discrimination, workplace violence and sexual harassment. Casual sexism and unconscious bias are also unacceptably common. In my community there has been a lot of work done to address some of these issues, and I would like to acknowledge the incredible work of Women’s Health Grampians, who have led that work through the foundation of CoRE, Communities of Respect and Equality. The Communities of Respect and Equality Alliance is a partnership of organisations, businesses, clubs and groups who share a vision for safe, equal and respectful communities in the Grampians region. Members of CoRE commit to the CoRE regional plan to prevent violence against women and children. The Ballarat business community has got behind CoRE, and the alliance’s membership ranges from the Ballarat Golf Club through to Federation University. So I know that my community will be celebrating this historic bill.

Today we deliver on our election commitment to introduce gender equality legislation to eliminate the pay gap within the Victorian public sector. This government is committed to gender equality not just in word but in action. It is why we have a gender-equal cabinet and government benches of 48 per cent women. It is why we have gender parity on paid government boards. It is why we have committed to ensuring 50 per cent of all new appointments to Victorian boards and courts will be women. Now we continue the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to progressing gender equality in Victoria with Australia’s first Gender Equality Bill.

The Gender Equality Bill will apply to Victorian public sector organisations with 50 or more employees, including our public service bodies, our public entities, local government, universities, Court Services Victoria and the Office of Public Prosecutions. Government must take the lead on equality, and we are a government that will always take the lead on equality, because equality to this government is not negotiable. In fact gender equality has been at the heart of this government’s agenda. When we came to government in 2014 we took office with a promise to improve outcomes for women and girls across our state—for good. In 2015 we launched a Royal Commission into Family Violence, a world first. It was a necessary royal commission, and we immediately agreed to implement all 227 recommendations of the commission and backed that decision with a $2.9 billion investment.

The royal commission told us that family violence is a gendered crime and that if we are to end violence against women, we must begin with addressing gender inequality. That is why in 2016 we launched Victoria’s first gender equality strategy, Safe and Strong. Safe and Strong set a framework for all government action to implement the attitudinal and behavioural changes our community needs to achieve gender equality. A key component of Safe and Strong was a commitment to legislative change, a commitment to enact a gender equality act that promotes and improves gender equality across all government functions, and today we are delivering on that promise.

This is not just talk; this is meaningful, with real outcomes, and as a government we are getting on with it. It says to men and women, boys and girls: women can be strong, influential and talented leaders in any field. It encourages girls to self-nominate for leadership positions at school, on the sporting field, in the media and in public life. It says, ‘Women can’. It also means we better reflect the communities we represent. We are backing this up with scholarships and leadership programs to create a pipeline of skilled, supported and influential women to fill these positions, because we recognise that when you have diversity in decision-making you make better decisions.

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the many women who have fought for decades for true gender equality. In particular I would like to offer my thanks and gratitude to the three courageous Labor ministers who have worked tirelessly to make this bill a reality—our current Minister for Women, the member for Dandenong; the member for Sydenham; and the late Fiona Richardson. Everyone benefits from gender equality, and today we seek to enshrine that in law. On behalf of every young girl growing up now and contemplating her career, I commend this bill to the house.

Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (14:17): I rise today to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019, and I do this in the 59th Parliament of Victoria, which is also the Parliament with a record number of sitting women. This, I assure you, is something that I constantly remind my daughter, Emily, and my son, Leo, of, because right here, right now, we have made history, and I am pretty proud to be part of it. Here in Victoria, we are setting the bar for the rest of the country. Let us face it: someone had to step up and had to take action, because in order to achieve gender equality across our great nation its leaders need to step up and take action.

Every time I walk into this place and look around I am reminded that this Labor government is the first Parliament to have a cabinet where women in equal numbers are able to sit at the table beside their male colleagues. And I remind those opposite—or the empty chairs; the many, many empty chairs—that this has not happened by accident; it has come through the perseverance of both women and men to do what is right, and to speak up and speak out about the need to change the status quo and be on the right side of history.

Through the determination of women on this side of the house, over the past two terms of government we have undertaken the world’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence. This government has promised to implement every single recommendation from that royal commission. It is a promise we will keep, with our $2.9 billion investment. Victorians can trust that our government has got their backs. It is committed to fostering equality and empowering women. But the fight for gender equality does not end there. These steps have been remarkable, but we still have so much more to do. This bill is another step in the right direction.

When we look at how we can even the playing field for women, it is absolutely essential that we look at the workforce. Female-dominated industries are more likely to be paid less than male-dominated industries, despite women needing the same if not higher qualifications. The reality is women are also more likely to take on the domestic work at home, making it harder for them to join the workforce in the first place.

All of these factors have led to shocking statistics: on average, a woman in Victoria will earn 9.6 per cent less than a man. The amount of women in the workforce is 11.2 per cent lower than it is for men. When you put all of these factors together women are left with 37 per cent less in their superannuation savings than men—certainly, knowing what my husband’s superannuation is, mine is a lot less. This is appalling, which is why we are doing something about it.

From a personal point of view, for almost two decades I worked in male-dominated industries. I started off as a young legal clerk, where solicitors and barristers enjoyed after-work drinks while talking about their young female clerks and paralegals—yes, all those clichés and certain behaviours now called out, all of that went on. And no, none of us could ever speak about it. The blokes were the barristers, the QCs, the silks, the magistrates and the judges.

The really strange thing is that none of this seemed odd to me, because this was considered the norm. This is the world that I grew up in. It was acceptable behaviour. No female ever spoke out for fear of ruining her career. I was really young at that time; I was around 21 when I first did a stint for the Director of Public Prosecutions in Queensland. I have spent a lot of time reflecting over the years on why I thought this was the norm and that it never seemed unfair to me at that young age. I think it goes back to my childhood. I grew up in a household—a very happy household—where Mum did all the stuff like cooking and cleaning and raising the kids. And Dad? Dad was an awesome guy. He went to work, and that was it. Mum never complained. She never talked about it being unfair that she gave up her career as a nurse to stay at home and raise her three children. She never complained that she cooked dinner every single night while looking after us three at home, nor did she ever say to me that this type of domestic work was actually unfair and placed upon her because of her gender and a cultural practice that was entrenched in generations before her. So I never questioned the status quo.

It was not until I came back to work—I was aged 30, after having my third child—that I actually felt the sting of inequality in the workforce for the first time. I was highly educated, I was driven and I had years and years of experience in the energy industry behind me by that time. Senior executives and CEOs—well, they were always male. But I never seemed to notice. I remember having a career development conversation when I came back to work after having Leo. I clearly remember being told that I could not be interested in career development and climbing the corporate ladder or doing courses or degrees to continue my education because I was a mum with young kids and coming to work part time was basically a break from my parental responsibilities. I am now 38 years old, so you can do the maths and you can see that this conversation happened eight years ago.

It came out of a cultural, systemic, ingrained and outrageous way of thinking, and that way of thinking still exists—make no mistake. I am not someone who is lost for words, but at the time I remember I paused, and I thought—ashamedly—‘Perhaps, just perhaps, they’re right’. Perhaps it was wrong of me to think I wanted more challenging work and that my contribution to that business was not as important or relevant as my male counterparts’, who always continued to work full time because their wives were at home looking after the kids. I did not say anything; I did not respond. But inside I got mad—really mad. And then it was as if my eyes were opened and I saw the gender equality that existed in my workplace, and I have never stopped noticing. I was outraged. I left that job pretty soon after because I knew I was worth more and I had a bigger contribution to make than just shuffling paper three days a week because I needed a break from my kids. I refused to be put aside like that.

Unfortunately my story is not a unique one. Women right across Victoria share similar experiences, and it should not be their responsibility to constantly fight for equality in the workplace. It is exhausting and it is unfair, and it is our job to make sure that there are systems in place that keep organisations in check. That is why this bill is so important. It takes the burden off women and holds workplaces to account. Over the past year, in the time that I have spent in this place, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and diverse women, and I have been lucky enough to have them share their experiences with me. Many of them have opened up about the struggles they have faced while entering the workforce, whether it is because they cannot access vital services or they have no other option when it comes to looking after their kids. I do think there is added discrimination against women, particularly in my community, based on their religion and cultural practices, and this is entirely unacceptable. It is unacceptable for our future generation of girls, like my daughter, Emily, who will turn 10 this year, to think that they are worth less in terms of their career progression, their job opportunities or their pay simply because they were born female.

I make this point matter-of-factly because turning to this side and looking at the empty chairs of those opposite, particularly given the fact that one of you turned up—that you have been unable to talk about one or two good things about this bill—I say: be very careful, because you are no different to us on this side of the house. You may not hear that very often, but you are no different. You will have daughters, you will have wives, you will have mothers, granddaughters and females in your lives—girls that will grow into incredible women—and they will look to you as to what is acceptable. What is the norm? What is right? What is wrong? Just like my daughter, Emily, does and just like other members here sitting on this side of the house today know and the Premier does know with his daughter. As a parent, it is my responsibility to set an example, and it is the government’s responsibility to set the right example—and equality is not negotiable.

This bill will change the working lives of women across the public sector. They are our teachers, our nurses, our social workers, police, firefighters and all public servants from across the state. I am absolutely honoured to be here to stand in favour of this bill, and I commend the bill to the house.

Ms HALL (Footscray) (14:27): This is a very proud day for me to make a contribution to this very significant reform, which will shine a light on gender equity and equality and fairness in Victorian workplaces. It is often said that you cannot be what you cannot see. So I say to the girls and women of Victoria: these great strides forward will ensure that you can always see gender equality in the public sector, in our great public institutions and organisations.

It is a shame that the opposition has been dismissive of this opportunity, with only a handful of women in their ranks—not enough merit apparently. It has been really disappointing that there has only been one contribution, from the member for Lowan, from the coalition. I am also appalled, frankly, that the Greens have not participated in this debate. I think that says it all really, because this is a historic reform—and when it comes to gender equality, Labor is truly the party of reform.

It is an historic moment made by a government that is systematically addressing every space where women have not been getting a fair go. From the gender pay gap to women working in construction, delivering gender equity on public boards and building women’s change rooms so girls can play footy out in our suburbs, the long list of reforms demonstrates that this minister and this government are leaving no stone unturned. This government walks the talk too, with a cabinet that is made up of 50 per cent women. I am enormously proud to be on this side of the chamber and a part of this fine government.

I would like to begin by thanking the minister for her unwavering commitment. I acknowledge the young women in the gallery too and my sisters from EMILY’s List. I am very proud to be an EMILY’s List-endorsed Labor candidate. Your advocacy within the Labor Party is crucial, and it is valued. You have been terrific agents for change, and I am very proud to be a member alongside you.

When the Andrews Labor team first took office in 2014 they brought a promise. The great people that I now call colleagues brought a promise to improve outcomes for women and children in Victoria. I think some people were probably pretty sceptical because they had been let down in the past by four years of a Liberal government that did not make it a priority. All of our reforms in gender equality have been important, but I think the most significant was that in 2015 the Andrews Labor government launched a world-first royal commission into family violence. Not only did we listen to the victim survivors and listen to the experts, but we backed it up. By implementing all 227 recommendations, with a $2.9 billion investment, the royal commission told us what so many of us already knew: that family violence is a gendered issue and it begins with gender inequality and disrespect not only in the home but in the workplace as well.

To begin to undo decades of damage that have been done, we launched Victoria’s first gender equality strategy in 2016, Safe and Strong. A key component was a commitment to legislative change and a commitment to enact a gender equality act that promotes and improves gender equality across government functions, and this is it. Today we deliver on that promise, and gender equality in leadership is crucial. Let us not take any stick. If you feel threatened by the idea of equality, maybe you should reflect on why—because if you are used to privilege, equality feels like oppression, like something is being taken away.

We have committed to ensuring that 50 per cent of all new appointments to Victorian boards and courts will be women. We have achieved gender parity on paid government boards. And our commitment to gender equality does not stop there. To encourage and support women to put themselves forward for these positions, we are backing them with scholarships and leadership programs to ensure that we have a pipeline of skilled, supported and confident women to fill these positions. Diversity in decision-making teams means better decisions are made, and that is good news for everyone.

Forty-eight per cent of Labor MPs in the government are women, and I am proud to stand with and alongside all of them. Throughout my career I have been really fortunate to work with some strong, intelligent and competent women, and two in particular have not just been political icons and people I have looked up to but have changed this country forever. They broke some very substantial glass ceilings. Nicola Roxon, Australia’s first female Attorney-General, was the woman who gave me my first job in politics. In fact it is her office that serves as the Footscray electorate office today. After my first speech in this place Nicola gave me a book titled You Daughters of Freedom, and if you have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is a brilliant book about the women who fought for female suffrage in Australia. On the inside of the book Nicola wrote, ‘Now we pass the baton onto your generation to fight for the next wave of reforms’. I am really proud to be a member of a government that is delivering such ambitious reform for gender equality. I was proud to work for her when she introduced landmark tobacco reforms, not only as a health minister but as the first female Attorney-General, where she continued to take on the tobacco companies in the High Court.

The other female leader I was fortunate enough to work with was our first female Prime Minister. We all know that she experienced gendered bullying throughout her prime ministership, and that was a shocking thing to watch as a young woman in her office. But her words when she retired were that being the first female Prime Minister would make it easier for the next woman and the next woman after that.

The same goes for having equity and equality within our public sector institutions. This is the first piece of legislation in Australia that puts the onus on proving a commitment to gender equality in public sector organisations. Women have been told for decades not to worry about equality in the workforce, that progress is slow but certain and that we can do anything if we just work hard enough. But we all know that that is not true—not for all workplaces and not for all women—so we are changing that. This bill will make it easier for nurses, teachers, social workers, police, firefighters, child protection workers and public servants to enjoy fairer workplaces.

This bill is ambitious in its scope and its scale. Where organisations do not do the right thing, the new public sector gender equality commissioner, established by this bill, will step in. They will have the power to scrutinise performance, issue compliance notices and refer matters to VCAT. Organisations will be required to publicly report on their progress against key gender equality indicators such as equal pay, sexual harassment, flexible work, parental leave and career progression practices. This transparency means that women in the public sector advancing in their careers will not have to wonder if they would hit their next milestone quicker if they were a man.

Public interest and engagement with this bill has been significant, which is a great thing, because it shows that it matters to people. This bill has been shaped by Victorians through community forums, the stakeholder meetings and the exposure draft for public feedback. To the women and allies fighting the good fight, thank you. We know that gender equality is not a one-size-fits-all disadvantage. It affects and can be compounded and affected by other forms of disadvantage, including race, disability, age and religion. This bill will require organisations to consider the way gender disadvantage can interact with other forms of disadvantage and discrimination.

Gender inequality harms men too, and stereotypes harm men by preventing them from entering traditionally female workforces, discouraging them from taking on primary caregiver roles and even engaging in hobbies, pastimes and certain sports. Gender equality is about all of us, and all of us can do something about it. I urge everyone in this building to think about what legacy we are leaving for Victorians today and to support this bill and its speedy passage.

Ms WARD (Eltham) (14:37): This is a terrific bill, and this is terrific legislation that really reflects the core values of the Labor Party and the core values of this government, this government being about fairness and about equality. We have been walking our truth since we were elected in November 2014. We have paved the way to really bring about institutionalised gender equality in this state. I acknowledge, along with many of the other speakers today, that we do stand on the shoulders of many female giants and of women in this party who have really worked hard to help bring about a gender balance and gender equality within the Labor Party.

As has been mentioned before, Pauline Toner, who also represented my area many years ago, was the first female councillor for the Diamond Valley, was first female mayor in the Diamond Valley, was the first female member of Parliament for the Diamond Valley and was also the first female minister in this state—an amazing amount of achievements for someone who, I imagine in the 1970s in Greensborough, faced a few challenges in trying to get out there and in trying to get herself elected. I absolutely admire her fortitude, her strength and her drive. To think that she was in Parliament until only a very short period before she passed away is nothing short of amazing and a testament of the strength of this remarkable woman.

We stand on the shoulders of Joan Kirner of course, who opened up many—so many—doors for women in this party, who got EMILY’s List up and running and who was out there taking so many opportunities to help promote and encourage women within our party. She stood in the face of criticism; she stood in the face of people with their stupid polka dot caricatures of her—a polka dot dress that she never had. The only way that they thought they could mock this woman and her intelligence and her strength as Premier was to talk about her appearance. It saddens me to say that often this is still the case, that the way to disparage women and the way to try and disempower women is to talk about their appearance and to disparage their appearance. I look forward to the day when this is not the case. I look forward to the day when women across the board in this state, in this nation and around the world are judged solely on their merit. And I will get to merit.

We also stand on the shoulders of Julia Gillard, one of the strongest people I have ever encountered—an amazing woman; a woman with a terrific sense of humour who, I do not know how, kept on going no matter what was thrown at her, like the shocking insults and the horrific things that were said about her and to her. But she kept on going. I have to tell you, I suspect that there are many women in this place and that there are many girls out there who know that if Julia Gillard can do it, if Julia Gillard can put up with that, then they can too. There are very few people in this country who would have been able to withstand what she withstood and still create really good policy and still have a good government that stood for good things. The national disability insurance scheme is just one of those testaments to her leadership and her ability to actually get things done.

I also want to pay credit to Jenny Macklin, who was Labor’s first female deputy leader, also paving the way for women, also out there supporting women and also a foundation person of EMILY’s List, who put her money and who put her time and her effort into helping women get elected and have positions of leadership and influence within the Labor Party.

We are absolutely doing this as a government. As I said earlier, we are walking our truth. We are creating policy after policy after policy to ensure that there is gender equality in this state. We have covered nearly every base. I am sure that there are still bases for us to cover, but I tell you what—we have given it a really good, red-hot go, and women in this state and girls in this state are absolutely the better for it. They are going to do better in this state because of the leadership shown by our government, by our Premier and by our ministers for women, including the Minister for Women that is here now.

One of the most recent things that we have come up with, which is pretty cool, is that the $64 million State Netball Hockey Centre redevelopment has got a pilot program to increase the number of women working in construction. While I am talking about construction, let us note the women ministers that we have got, the 50 per cent of representation, but also the fact that we have actually got women in positions of responsibility for infrastructure. We have got women leading transport portfolios. We have got women doing hard things in this state government. We have got women with serious responsibility, who are not only up to the task but are excelling at that task.

Deputy Speaker, it is interesting that, as you have probably heard along with a few other people, there are a number of reports out there that talk about the benefits of having women on boards. They talk about the benefits to corporations and organisations of having diversity of view and talk about the different perspectives that are brought to the board table and how they can actually enhance a company or organisation and can help them make more money because there is a wider perspective there. There is the story told of one executive who says, ‘Of course I put women on my board; they make me money’. Because that is what you do. When you improve diversity, when you improve positions, when you improve the perspective that you have got on your board and when it is not down to a bunch of blokes called John, Paul or Peter, you will get better decision-making, and if you are a corporation you will actually make more money.

The Liberal Party could take note of this. If they had more women in positions of leadership in their party, they might actually have had better electoral success in this state. It is very clear to me that gender equality is something that matters to the people and the state of Victoria. They have elected a record amount of women on this side of the benches. They support our policy of gender equality. They support what we are doing, and they support a Premier and the government that say what they are going to do and then do it. That includes our gender equality strategy, that includes our Royal Commission into Family Violence and that includes the work that we are doing to adopt all of those recommendations to have women in this state feel safe and not only feel safe but be respected, because when women and girls in this state are completely respected, that is when we know they are safe. We know that they can go into any room, that they can go into any train carriage and that they can go onto any sporting field and feel safe, because they are respected and because people will not go and think that they can inappropriately touch someone. Because they respect them, they know that is off limits. They are not going to say a disparaging remark, because they respect them and they know that they are off limits. This is what we need in this state, and this is exactly what this government is bringing about.

I want to give a shout-out to organisations like Cricket Australia, who have got pay parity for their female cricketers in the T20 championship. This is what we need. I want the AFLW to step up and start paying female footy players more as well. We need to have these signals; we need to have women in positions where they are on pay equity, where they are getting paid parity and where they are being treated with respect—where their work and their sporting achievements are all respected and rewarded—and equal remuneration is a part of that.

We know that we still have a way to go. We know that women do not have the same superannuation as men. We know that women are twice as likely to experience homelessness. We know that women do not always feel safe, and they certainly do not feel safe when compared to men. This government is putting in policies to help alleviate that, to help change that.

One story I forgot to tell you was about Pauline Toner. When Pauline Toner came here, there was one female toilet in this place, out the front. Now, she did commandeer a blokes toilet. She did make it her own, because of course this is what women have to do. They have to make places their own; they have to own places—and she did that. I have to say, when I came into this place I was quite astonished to find that pads and tampons were not actually available in female toilets and that we had to go to the gift shop, to the bottom drawer under the counter and ask someone working there if they could please give us a tampon or a pad if we did not have one. I am pleased to say that one of my achievements in this place—through the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee—has been to bring about pads and tampons in this place.

I have to say, having pads and tampons in our high schools is a game changer. It helps normalise the conversation around this very natural occurrence that women have for the bulk of their lives. It helps empower girls at school, who can just go and sort themselves out when they need to. I do not think boys or men can really imagine how much this policy can actually matter to girls—how easy this is or how a girl may not be brave enough to go into the supermarket and buy these products for herself, whose parents or dad or whoever may not be able to do that for her. For her to be able to access this liberates her, and that is exactly what this government is about.

Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (14:47): This is a historic moment. Countless individuals have strived to progress gender equality and improve outcomes for women and girls, and consecutive Labor premiers have delivered real change. Only this week we said goodbye to a giant amongst them. Today we build on that legacy. Today we enshrine the Andrews government’s commitment to the women and men of Victoria to enact gender equality legislation. As a mother of two young girls, as a daughter proudly following the lead of my own mother and as a representative of an electorate that actually has more women than men, I am immensely pleased to be here today to speak in support of this bill and see our promise to the people of Victoria become a reality.

We should not need a gender equality bill, but we do. No doubt we will see some negativity from some quarters, but that will not deter us, because frankly we are used to fighting—women are used to fighting. The pushback did not deter us when we fought for equal pay, for paid parental leave, for our reproductive rights, for protections against discrimination or for the vote, and it certainly will not deter us now. Just like we have always done, we will stand up and we will fight, and I lend my voice now to that movement and that legacy and to all those women’s voices who have come before my own. It might seem like we have come so far that perhaps the fight is over, but all we have to do is look at the other side of the chamber to see how far yet we have to go. Nothing demonstrates the disdain for gender equality held by the opposition more than the fact that they have put just a single speaker up for this bill. Might I mention that the Greens are notably absent as well—disgraceful on both accounts.

Deputy Speaker, as you know, I have two young daughters. I think about the world they will grow up in, and I compare it to the world that my own mum grew up in. When mum was pregnant with her first baby, my brother Harry, she was working as a pharmacist. Perhaps naively she shared with her employer the exciting news that she was expecting. That same night she got a call from him to say he ‘couldn’t afford to keep her on’. She was devastated. Bruised by this experience, she took up another position soon after but kept the pregnancy a secret—until her new boss, thankfully a far better man, told her to stop lifting the heavy boxes because it might hurt the baby. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The road to equality is long and it is bumpy, but we owe it to our daughters and granddaughters, our sisters, our nieces and our mothers to fight for an equal future—a future where they will not be paid less for doing the same job as a man; a future where they are valued and respected; a future in which they never have to utter the words ‘me too’.

The Andrews Labor government’s commitment to equality, in particular gender equality and ending family violence, is second to none in this country. We held the Royal Commission into Family Violence, secured record investment to keep women and children safe, laid the groundwork for landmark family violence sector reform, appointed women to hold 50 per cent of positions on our public boards and launched Victoria’s first ever gender equality strategy, all in just four years. I am humbled to have contributed to that work, but I also know that we have a long way to go before we achieve true equality.

In many ways we are going backwards. We still see entrenched structural, social and economic disadvantage for women. We still see workplace discrimination, huge disparities in unpaid care responsibilities, blatant sexism across the public domain and low representation of women in positions of power. Most disappointingly, we still see some political parties lagging when it comes to female representation, and more and more we hear stories of harassment and bullying in the party room. Our government has more women on its front bench than those opposite have at all in this place, but when challenged on their poor record of electing women they tell us that we should have just let them win—that we should not have run against their candidates. Now, we often hear the opposition spouting that it is the Labor Party’s fault on many and varied issues, but this takes the cake. The party that still retains a spousal attendance policy is blaming us for their low numbers. Put women in winnable seats! They may just surprise you and win.

That brings me to my dear friend and colleague the member for Footscray. This house is a much better place for having her here, especially considering who the Greens political party tried to run against her to knock her off. What a disgrace.

What we do here matters. Who we are as leaders and decision-makers matters. We will continue to call these things out, and we will continue to drive a change in culture that embraces gender equality. That means fighting against negative and stereotyped attitudes towards women. It means building respect for women and social permissibility around women in power or in traditionally male-dominated industries. It means more women in Parliament and in decision-making roles. The thing is, equality not only advantages women; it also advantages us as a society. We know that as we move towards equality in pay and in workforce participation we see a huge bump in GDP. Similarly, when we have more diverse leadership teams we see better performance outcomes. When caring roles are more equally shared we see stronger families and stronger communities. Perhaps most importantly, when we move towards gender equality we also move towards reducing violence against women, because we know that violence against women does stem from disrespect and gender inequality.

Deputy Speaker, as you know, I had the opportunity to work alongside the former and formidable member for Northcote, Fiona Richardson, in her role as Australia’s first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. It was during this time that the Andrews government delivered the Royal Commission into Family Violence and invested an unprecedented $2.6 billion in the sector to forever transform how we approach this scourge—more than the commonwealth and more than any other state or territory.

Of course, having a royal commission is one thing—it is a very important thing—but what is most important is what happens next. There are two ways that can go. One is to take the document, smile politely and sit it on a shelf. The other is to take responsibility and implement every single recommendation in that document, and that is exactly what we are doing. Our Premier was prepared to say the system is broken and we need to fix it. A key element in delivering on that promise to fix it is what we have before us today in the house, because if we are ever to challenge a culture of disrespect towards women, we must have social, economic and political equality for women.

This bill aims to improve gender equality within Victorian government workplaces by requiring organisations to report on their progress to achieve gender equality and apply a gendered lens to their policies, programs and services. Public sector organisations will now have to demonstrate that they are actively working towards achieving gender equality. No other jurisdiction in Australia has taken this proactive approach. Indeed very few countries in the world have laws as ambitious as this one that we are debating today.

Under this bill over 300 Victorian public sector organisations, including our public service, councils and unis, will have to implement a gender equality action plan and report on its progress. Importantly, the bill also establishes a new public sector gender equality commission that will scrutinise the performance of these organisations and will have the power to call them out if they are not demonstrating real progress over time. Organisations will be required to publish details of what they have and have not achieved.

But one of the most exciting parts of this bill in my view is its power to issue funding and procurement guidelines. Let me unpack that a little. We know that the gender pay gap in Victoria remains at 9.6 per cent and that women’s workforce participation is still 11 per cent lower than men’s. We know our labour markets are still divided along gender lines, with women still employed in jobs that pay less. Shifting this occupational segregation and evening out the spectrum of employment between men and women is a key lever to improving economic security for women. We can only do that if we have the private sector on board too. This bill allows us to leverage our position as a major purchaser of goods and services to drive equality measures not just for the public sector but for the private domain. It says to the private sector, ‘We will engage with you, but only if you back in gender equality too’.

Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank all those who have contributed to the development of the bill and the important work that preceded it, including Fiona Richardson; the former Minister for Women, the member for Sydenham; the current minister, the member for Dandenong; the Premier; and the many, many Victorians who engaged in all of the consultations. We are committed to building a Victoria where gender equality is a reality rather than a goal. I know there is a long road ahead, but this historic bill is a crucial step towards achieving the cultural change that we want and that we need. To that end, I commend the bill to the house.

Mr PEARSON (Essendon) (14:56): I am delighted to be afforded the great opportunity today to make a contribution on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. I really value and I treasure this great institution, the Parliament. I think that this Parliament has served generations of Victorians so well, and the institution of the Parliament—the ability for a body to be constructed so that representatives can come here and meet and deliberate on legislation and pass legislation that is enacted by the executive—is a really important cornerstone of our society. I suppose I am betraying my prejudice, but I think it is the hallmark of a civil society that you can have a set of circumstances where an administration can come in and bring a bill, it is debated in this place and passed, it goes to the other place and it is debated and it is passed, and then it becomes law. And when the time comes and the people at an election cast a verdict and indicate that the government no longer represents the will of the people, then that administration then goes onto the opposition benches. It is instructive as a society and a community that we have never had armed conflict—we have never had a revolution—and that when a government falls it goes quietly. It might not go happily, but it will go quietly, and I think that is a really important hallmark of our society and our state.

This great chamber has been the scene of many great debates. In my brief time here we have had some fantastic contributions on both sides of debate—voluntary assisted dying is a case in point—where people come at an issue and they express in a fulsome way and a thoughtful way and a measured way, whether they support the bill that is before the house or they do not. Now, I am so pleased to belong to the great Australian Labor Party, and I am so fortunate to have 54 other colleagues in this chamber as my colleagues. The second-largest political party here is the Liberal Party, and what I find astonishing is that not a single member of the Liberal Party has come forward and argued a position on this bill. I actually wanted to have that. I actually wanted to understand what the position of Liberal Party is on this bill. Would the Liberal Party have the view that, ‘Look, this is a matter of the rights of the individual; the state should not intervene, and therefore we oppose the bill’? Does the modern Liberal Party think that where the rights of the individual are concerned they should have full access, full ability, to be able to lead a meaningful and fulfilled life, and therefore state intervention is required?

Now, I had hoped that I would have that experience today. I had hoped that the Liberal Party would come in here and give an indication. I did not expect every member of the Liberal Party to come and speak, but I would have thought that some members of Liberal Party could put forward a Liberal perspective on the Gender Equality Bill. I would have thought that is a hallmark of a good, functioning democracy, and I would have thought that that would have been the Liberal Party’s way of showing respect to this great institution, the Parliament—indicating what their views might be. But I think this is, sadly, the malaise of the modern Liberal Party.

I remember being here in the 1990s as a staffer, and you always knew where the Kennett government stood on any given issue. It is probably fair to say that most of the ideological engine room and most of the thought and constructs that that government pursued were more Alan Stockdale than Jeff Kennett, but nonetheless you always knew. Instead the Liberal Party today are absent. Is it any wonder that Jeff Kennett, as I understand, has gone to recent Liberal Party functions and has been highly critical of the Leader of the Opposition? I would have thought that if Jeff Kennett was the Leader of the Opposition you would absolutely know what Jeff Kennett thought of this bill. Regardless of whether he was in favour of it or against it, Jeff Kennett was the sort of leader of the Liberal Party who would say, ‘We’re in favour of it for these reasons’ or ‘We’re opposing it for these reasons’ or ‘We think amendments should be made’, and he would be absolutely clear on that. Unfortunately, this is the situation the Liberal Party currently finds itself in, where they are absent.

I have to say they are not the only guilty party where these matters are concerned. I share a boundary with the member for Melbourne, and the member for Melbourne recently wrote a piece in the local community newspaper, which said, to paraphrase, ‘I’ve been absent lately because I’ve given birth to my second child, but it’s great to be back’. I would have thought that the member for Melbourne would have come in here and said, ‘I really think this is a great bill’ or ‘I think this is a terrible bill for these reasons’. The Greens are not speaking on this bill. Where are the Greens? Do they not respect this great institution of the Parliament? Do they not appreciate the great privilege that they have been given and the great trust that has been bestowed upon them as individuals by their electorates, by their communities, to come in here and represent their interests? Instead they are absent. They are nowhere to be seen, and it is deplorable. It is deplorable when we have a situation where members are entrusted by their communities, voted in by their communities, to come here and legislate.

Now, if you do not want to legislate, that is fine; go and do something else. Run campaigns, set up a blog, be a DJ like the member for Footscray’s opponent was—that is fine. You are entrusted by the people, you have a sacred trust in the communities who sent you here and you have a trust in that long line of parliamentary democracy and parliamentary representation to come here and be here and speak up. Instead they have clocked off. They have gone for the day. They have just gone off. They have just said, ‘No, not interested. I might wander in at five when there’s a division, but basically I don’t care. I’m not interested’. Well, it is not good enough.

This bill is so vitally important to the nature of our state and the way in which our society will be constructed in decades to come. I know the member for Lowan, as the only speaker from the opposition, indicated that she felt that these responsibilities should be with the minister, and I think that that misunderstands what we are trying to do. With all due respect to the minister currently at the table, the Minister for Women, ministers come and go. Governments come and go. This is about creating the architecture for meaningful and long-term reform. If a future Liberal government comes in here and wants to abolish this bill or wants to amend this bill, they can come here and have the debate. They can come here and move a bill and have an argument—they can do that; that will be their right—but we are not going to have a situation where an incoming coalition government comes in, abolishes the position of the Minister for Women, turns around and basically just tries to kill this off in the dead of the night without being accountable or responsible to the community. That is what we are trying to do here. We are trying to make meaningful, long-term, sustainable reform, because it is in the interests of our economy. In addition to questions about fairness, it is in the interests of a strong, vibrant economy.

George Megalogenis, in his great book The Australian Moment: How We Were Made for These Times, talks about the important role that women and migrants have played in terms of underpinning the economic prosperity of our great society as a result of women being given a look-in, women being given a fair chop-out. This bill is making sure that we are using all the powers of the state to make sure that we play a leading role. James Buchan, in a book called Capital of the Mind: How Edinburgh Changed the World, talks about the great role that the Scottish Enlightenment played in terms of driving and developing and creating a great and fair society. Now, I like to think that bills like this are a way in which we in Victoria can look at trying to shape and change the way in which women are treated not just here, not just in this nation, but around the world. These are the contributions that we are making on our commitment to the women of Victoria.

We want fairness and we want equality, and we are not going to have some future administration come in here and then just sort of say, ‘Oh well, look, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve changed the administrative orders. We’ve changed the allocations of responsibilities, and this is now no longer’. A future Liberal government can come in here and pass a bill to end this if that is what they want, and they can stand up here and say, ‘We don’t believe in gender equality’. They can do that, and you know what? If I am here and I am over there, I will be arguing why that is a flawed idea, but at least those of us in here on the Labor side are here for the fight.

We are here for the debate. We respect this great institution. We are prepared to live our values and make sure they are reflected on the statute books—to have the argument and to have the debate. That is what the labour movement expects of us. That is what our community expects of us. You are not going to have us sitting here avoiding the debate like those opposite. Where are the Liberal Party? Where is the voice of the modern Liberal Party today? It is silence in the same way the Greens are silent. It is an absolute disgrace, and it reflects poorly on them. Our democracy deserves better. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (15:06): I could not go past the opportunity to make some comment, particularly on the contribution of the member for Essendon. I do not intend working into the detail of the bill, but I want to make the point that I have been sitting in the chamber since 2 o’clock, and I have heard a constant narrative about the views of the opposition, the views that were put eloquently by the member for Lowan. And the narrative emanating from the Australian Labor Party—I will not say the other side because it has come from behind me as well—has been an assumption of a particular position taken by the opposition.

Now, it is interesting that the member for Essendon talked about the great debates that we have had in this place, and as someone who considers himself to be a legislator as well as a politician I agree. Certainly in my first term we had a series of them, and we have been, I think, fortunate enough as parliamentarians to have had a number of those debates since. The interesting thing about all of those debates—and the dying with dignity bill was a classic example—is that the Parliament is working at its best. You have the second-reading debate on the principles of the bill, and then you get to go through the bill clause by clause—so you actually get to legislate. The difficulty with the way we handle business now is that—not particularly taking sides—we tend to get the headline arguments. They all need to be put in 10 minutes, which can be particularly challenging when you have got a several-hundred-page bill, and in the end the bill then comes down and it is done.

What we have indicated to the Leader of the House and what we are very keen to see on this bill is that we actually have the opportunity to take it into consideration in detail and go through it clause by clause. So while the government members may be keen to talk it out and basically sing from the same hymn sheet, this side and the opposition—the Liberal and National parties—have had their viewpoint put exceptionally well by the member for Lowan. We now would like to take it into consideration in detail. So rather than spending the afternoon repeating the arguments that have already been made—and I would suggest our position is reasonably well known—we are happy to take it into consideration in detail. We are not simply filling in the afternoon. So with those few comments, I will sit down.

Mr DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh) (15:09): Thank you, Acting Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on this really important bill. I feel very privileged to speak on this bill for a range of reasons, and one of them is that it is entirely consistent with the values of the Andrews Labor government—entirely consistent.

I used to run a business, and I did not want government intervention in things like the product offerings or the pricings of my business. That was my decision; that is the free market. But, absolutely, I welcomed—and I know the industry welcomes—government intervention in important matters like occupational health and safety for the workforce or important matters around wages and penalty rates. That is where government investment and intervention is important. You cannot take the approach that government should not intervene in a whole range of areas that would warrant government intervention. I suppose it comes down to values and ethics and a desire to actually achieve things, but there is absolutely a space and a place for government to intervene in a whole range of social policy areas, and this government has demonstrated the enormous benefits of that.

I think the opposition generally have a resistance to intervention in the market or in society. I have an appreciation of that in some areas, but I think in this regard it is an absolute failure. So as an example—and others have spoken about this—of this government’s intervention in a whole range of social policy areas, there is mental health. Mental health, as we have heard many times from the Minister for Mental Health and the Premier, was ignored for far too long. The broken system was ignored. The people who had to live with a broken system were those users, the people that loved them, families and friends—and I have talked about my family connection with that important issue.

There is equality for the LGBTI community. You could say, ‘Look, we’re not going to intervene in that either. We’re not going to be able to make laws or put money towards programs for that either, because it is okay; it will sort itself out’. I think Bernie Finn, a Liberal in the upper house, said these things sort themselves out. Well, I can assure you, behaviour change and social norms do not just sort themselves out. Maybe over hundreds or even thousands of years they do. They do not sort themselves out in the time that we need them to sort themselves out.

Three-year-old kinder—an enormous investment by this government; probably one of the biggest social reforms of this government—would not sort itself out either if you did not intervene both through policy change and through actual taxpayer funds.

Family violence—I mean, the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence is here and has been here for the entire debate—is something that absolutely warranted government intervention, and government is a leader in many respects in that intervention. It is not the only participant; there is a whole range of other voices that absolutely matter.

The treaty with the Aboriginal community of Victoria—the First Peoples of Victoria—does not just sort itself either. That warrants government intervention and leadership.

I understand the member for Mornington’s view that we are presupposing a view by that side and that if we were to let them have consideration in detail we would be somehow illuminated that their view is far more progressive than it seems. You know what? A track record of many years demonstrates that that is probably a really worthless endeavour, to waste that time to find out something we already know, which is that there is a sense of strong conservatism on that side that does not seek to change social behaviour, social norms or social policy. That is not what they are here for. They are generally here for the preservation of wealth and privilege; that is what they have always been—and not just in a monetary sense, privilege in a sense of power, whether it be male—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, I would like to bring your attention to page 69 of Rulings from the Chair, stating that ‘imputations are disorderly and not allowed’. I think that the member has certainly gone off track, and it has now turned into an attack upon a political party. I ask you to consider page 69—the imputation being disorderly—and I also ask you to bring the member back to the bill and the debate as it was put. As my first contribution was entirely respectful—it was not derogatory in any way towards any particular person or any party or any history—

A member interjected.

Ms Kealy: Without interruption would be lovely. I do wish for you to consider that.

Ms Williams: On the point of order, Acting Speaker, I would argue that the member for Oakleigh’s contribution goes to the very heart of the issue that we are discussing through this bill, which is the establishment of cultures that often serve to disadvantage and disenfranchise large parts of our community, in this case women. To that end his comments are directly relevant to the legislation.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Suleyman): Thank you. Members, it has been a wideranging debate. I remind the member to go back to the bill and to make no imputations. Please go back to the bill. Thank you, member for Oakleigh.

Mr DIMOPOULOS: Thank you, Acting Speaker. I agree with the minister’s interpretation that I was on the bill. Nonetheless, I think that this stuff matters. This policy intervention matters.

Mr T Smith: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, I think that the member for Oakleigh was reflecting negatively on your ruling there. He basically said that he agreed with the minister at the table and not your ruling, where you sought to bring the member for Oakleigh back to the bill. I would make that point to you, Acting Speaker, in the humblest of situations. I would invite you to invite the member for Oakleigh to adhere to your ruling.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Suleyman): Order! Thank you, member for Kew. I believe the member for Oakleigh was acting within my ruling. Continue, member for Oakleigh. Thank you, member for Kew.

Mr DIMOPOULOS: Thank you, Acting Speaker. This stuff matters. It absolutely matters. There have been enormously, incredibly informative contributions from our side of the Parliament in this debate. This is not just a ‘nice to have’. This, as other speakers and particularly female colleagues have talked about, actually goes to the heart of the safety of women, because it all starts with attitudes and behaviours and language.

The member for Carrum talked about a death in her very community, in a driveway, where a mum was murdered by her ex-partner in front of her children this week in Victoria. You cannot minimise this stuff. It matters. It absolutely matters. This is why this bill matters. It is not just symbolism. We have got a cop on the beat with the commissioner. We have got a whole bunch of things we are seeking from agencies that employ about 10 per cent of the Victorian community. This is about human rights. It is about so many generations of lost human potential.

I want to thank and acknowledge the women who for hundreds of years have, around the world and in Victoria, had to deal with the indignity and the disrespect on a daily basis. They still have to deal with it on a daily basis and with the lack of recognition of their capacity and their value as human beings. I am sorry that you have had to deal with that—you continue to deal with that—and we are trying to change it. The Daniel Andrews government is trying to change it via this very bill and many, many other initiatives we have also done.

One more thing before I conclude about this: a lack of decision in this area is actually a decision. A lack of wanting to do anything, a lack of intervention, is actually a decision.

Ms Ward: A lack of will.

Mr DIMOPOULOS: A lack of will, as the member for Eltham said, is a decision. And that decision is, ‘We don’t care enough’. That is what it is. People often hide behind the fig leaf of, ‘It’s not necessary’. I remember the Long Service Benefits Portability Bill 2018. The opposition was saying, ‘Look, this is not necessary. It’s a cost to business’—all the rest of it. My view is generally, in a debate in a pub or in a debate in Parliament, that when people say it is not necessary it is a fig leaf for, ‘I don’t care. In fact, I care not to do it. In fact, I’m minded not to do it, because that’s not my values’. So please do not fall for this, Victorian community. Do not fall for, ‘It’s not necessary’. That is a fig leaf. That is a fig leaf for, ‘I don’t care about equality. I actually don’t care about equality’.

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, under Rulings from the Chair, page 81, members have a responsibility to ensure speeches are factual. At no point in time have I or any other member of this chamber spoken on this bill and said that this is not important or not relevant. I completely reject you, as a male, telling me, as a female, what I think. I am deeply offended. I ask you to reflect on that, but I also ask the member to withdraw.

Ms Ward: On the point of order, Acting Speaker, I would like to indicate to the honourable member that we would not know what they think on that side because only one person spoke on this bill. That is how little they care.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Suleyman): Order! Thank you. There is no point of order. Thank you, member for Eltham. Just getting back, I do not believe there is a point of order at the moment, but can I ask the member for Oakleigh—well, time has run out. Yes, there is no point of order.

Mr HALSE (Ringwood) (15:19): There have been some fine contributions in this chamber this afternoon. There have been some relatively lacklustre interjections, to say the very least. Can I start by thanking the minister—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, I find, given that I have been the only member who has raised a point of order or made an interjection from this side, that the comments that were just made by the member were directly linked to me. Under Rulings from the Chair, there is certainly, on page 68 or 69—if you give me a minute, if you would like, I am happy to look it up. Certainly I found that the comments were quite offensive. It could be indicated, because there is only one person who can be identified through the comments that were made by the member, that his comments were disorderly. I ask him to withdraw them because they were identifiable as towards me and I took offence, and therefore under the previous rulings I ask that he withdraw those comments.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Suleyman): Order! One moment, I will seek advice.

Member for Lowan, I actually did not hear the full context of the comments at that point, but I will remind all members to please refer to the bill in front of you. I will continue to monitor this closely.

Mr HALSE: Let me continue. I do want to thank the Minister for Women and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence for her work in bringing this bill to this house and affording me an opportunity to speak on it and for her hard work and continued advocacy in this space. I also acknowledge as I make this statement that I am one of the 52 per cent of the Labor caucus that are men, close but not quite the cigar, and yet far better than those opposite. In making this statement I note that I am standing here on the shoulders of so many fantastic women in this Parliament and so many in our party that have come before us, including the late Joan Kirner. There are too many of course to list, but all of them are outstanding leaders in this place and in the other place. I note the irony in how this debate looks at the moment. As I look across the chamber there are not too many seats filled—still just a few members are here present in this debate—and we are still yet to hear from the Greens political party. Surprise, surprise! The optics, as they say, are not great for those opposite.

On this side of the house we understand. This Labor government has said since well before we were elected in 2014 and right through our time in government that gender equality in all its facets is a human right. But the state of Victoria has a problem in the area of gender equality and it is a big one. There is a multitude of statistics that outline the magnitude of this problem, and here are a few. At present there is an 11 per cent pay gap across the Victorian public sector. Although women comprise two-thirds, around 66 per cent, of the Victorian public sector workforce, they account for less than 44 per cent of public sector executives. Women are also concentrated in lower paid jobs and are more likely than men to be paid at the lowest end of the salary scale. Now although we are making progress, statistics show that at the present rate it could take as long as 170 years before women enjoy the same employment and leadership opportunities as men. On any measure, this is not right.

Gender equality is not only about promoting women’s leadership in our institutions as an end in itself. It is about building a better, fairer and more just society for every single Victorian. To be clear, we all benefit from gender equality in ways that go far beyond keeping up appearances and feeling good about ourselves. Gender equality is good for families who benefit from extra income and from both parents contributing in the labour market, which leads to more fulfilling and respectful relationships in the home. At this juncture I will defer to the women who have already made outstanding contributions on how gender equality is key in the fight against family violence and pass my condolences on to the families of the many victims of the greatest law and order issue our state faces.

Gender equality is good for communities. A more diverse workforce that is reflective of the community’s make-up is a workforce that will treat each other better and is better able to respond to community needs so we have working conditions that fit. Better women’s participation simply means a greater pool of people to employ. It is prudent economic policy. As we heard from the Treasurer earlier, it saves the state money and raises productivity. We need more women in the workforce and we need them in roles where they have the same chance at influence as men. Women who are concentrated in lower paid jobs represent unused talent, and a fair chance at career progression would mean all get to see the benefits of that talent. We have a structural, gendered and economic sink. We do not need that and we should change it.

This bill does some important things to those ends. It requires that three big government institutions—three of our biggest employers—take leadership and show best practice in making their workplaces inclusive for all. Under this legislation, universities, councils and the public service will be required to show their progress—

Mr T Smith: Earlier in the member’s contribution he made some sort of glib comment with regard to the number of opposition MPs in the chamber. Given that his own side cannot even maintain a quorum, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

Quorum formed.

Mr HALSE: Let me just forge ahead. I do want to make a comment about this idea of merit-based advancement that we hear floated around a lot by those opposite on some very woolly definition of merit-based advancement based on some twisted sort of meritocracy where those at the top of the table just shrug their shoulders and presume that the fact that they all look, speak, and see the world in the same way must be due to merit. A cursory read of history says that practically no change happens this way. Our party understands that. The opposition clearly do not. Change happens because it is demanded.

As a Labor government, we are all about putting women in the boardroom, in Parliament, in cabinet and putting in place legislation like this that demands institutions adapt to reflect that change. In this case it is gender equality, a change for the better for all of us.

I will end my speech on a personal note. Sitting here today is my wife, Rachel, and we are expecting our first baby very shortly. The phone is on silent while I am in the chamber. For a whole lot of suddenly more selfish reasons, I want my child and its peers to have the opportunities of a happy and fulfilling life like I have had, regardless of gender, and 170 years is certainly too long to wait. This is a bill to help us bring workplace gender equality to this state that little bit faster, so that one day when my child asks words to the effect, ‘What is a women’s place?’, I can truthfully answer, ‘Wherever she wants to be’.

Mr MAAS (Narre Warren South) (15:29): It really gives me great pleasure, and indeed it is with great pride that I speak on this bill. I thank my parliamentary colleagues for their very, very valued contributions. It gives me so much pride to speak on this bill for several reasons. As a father of two young daughters, who will one day be navigating their way through the world of employment, I would like to see a world for them which I hope will be affording them every opportunity, where their gender is not a bar to progress in life but is a move towards equality.

I am also a member in this term of the Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, and we are currently hearing and considering evidence on gender responsive budgeting. The evidence from organisations, departments and academics overwhelmingly supports the committee for initiating an inquiry into gender budgeting and the proactive approach that that committee is taking. Also, I am a member of this government where 50 per cent of our cabinet are women and where we are just shy of 55 per cent of women in the caucus. As a government we consciously link our policies to gender equality. I also note that this government was the first government to produce a gender equality budget information statement to accompany the annual budget, and that it has done this now for the last three years. And finally, it is the fair thing to do; it is the right thing to do.

It was of course in the lead-up to the 2018 election that the government made an election promise to introduce gender equality legislation, legislation that will empower women and girls in our state. While we have come a long way, more needs to be done, and this bill not only reflects the journey we are on but it is reflective of the pathway that we are taking. Yet gender inequality is still persistent in Victoria. Despite Victoria’s improvement on indicators of gender equality, it remains an issue, particularly in the pay gap between men and women and in workforce participation. We still have a gender pay gap of 9.6 per cent, which is driven by a number of factors, including unequal workforce participation, discrimination and occupational and industrial segregation. Victorian women’s workforce participation is 11.2 per cent lower than it is for men. A lifetime of insecure, low-paid work for women has resulted in a significant gender gap in superannuation, which sees women’s savings 37 per cent lower than men’s. The former Minister for Women, the member for Sydenham, earlier took us through the implications that stem from women being on such a comparatively lower superannuation amount. As has been noted, women still make up the vast majority of those working in the lowest paid occupations, such as registered nurses, classroom teachers, welfare support workers and cleaners, and women are under-represented in the higher paid occupations and industries such as finance, construction, utilities, science and technology. In addition, women still shoulder the domestic and caring responsibilities and are significantly more likely than men to take up flexible work arrangements, including part-time work.

We also know that gender inequality negatively impacts men. Many men want to take more equal responsibility in caring for children, but workplace practices often prevent or discourage them from taking extended parental leave or from working flexibly. Men also frequently face discrimination or disapproval when taking on career paths that have traditionally been seen as being reserved for women.

I am very proud that the Gender Equality Bill 2019 is the first piece of legislation in Australia that requires public-sector organisations to demonstrate to Victorians that they are actively pursuing gender equality. At this point I acknowledge our Minister for Women and the previous ministers for women as well for the power of work that collectively has been done. I would also like to especially thank all of the women members of our government. You just simply do not get to this point without gender-representative advocacy within our caucus, and I am very proud of that. Let us face it: Victoria will be the first jurisdiction in the country to take this step. It is good decision-making, and good decision-making stems from this type of gender-representative advocacy.

We know that when the government and the public sector set the standard, that standard is soon met by the private sector as well. By requiring over 300 organisations—spanning the length and breadth of our state, and collectively employing over 380 000 Victorians—to take action to improve gender equality in the workplace and in the community, this bill shows that we will continue in our efforts to address gender inequality and to improve outcomes for all Victorians. Our legislation will hold the public sector to account for achieving gender-equal pay, for ensuring better access to flexible work arrangements and for preventing sexual harassment and gender discrimination. We are pushing for gender equality for all of us, starting by getting it right in the public sector. The bill will make it easier for nurses, teachers, social workers, police, firefighters, child protection workers and all of our public servants to enjoy a workplace that is fair and equitable across all genders. The bill moves us from a position of goodwill and best intentions to real action.

Progress has been slow on gender equality, and we need the law to bring forward a cultural shift in our community. The opportunity to be on the right side of history is before us here today. Again, I say I am very proud of all of the contributions that have been made on this bill and on this side of the house.

Gender equality provides economic benefit. Every day that we fail to deliver gender equality, we pay, economically. By not fully leveraging the skills and the talent of women in the economy, Victoria is losing out on substantial social and economic benefits, both now and into the future. Closing Australia’s gender employment gap would boost GDP by around 11 per cent and by 20 per cent if the productivity gap were addressed.

Australia is ranked number one in the world for educational attainment for women, yet from graduation onwards women experience disadvantage on every indicator, from lower pay to fewer promotion and recruitment opportunities, and at the most extreme end, gendered violence and discrimination. The Australian economy would gain $8 billion if women transitioned from tertiary education into the workforce at the same rate as men.

We know that equal workplaces are safer and far more inclusive workplaces. We know that by promoting and pursuing fairer and more equal and flexible work and leave policies, organisations stand to benefit. It is a valuable investment. Employers who offer enticing and flexible work and leave arrangements are more likely to win trust and loyalty, which ultimately allows them to retain staff. We need to dismantle the flexibility stigma. No-one should be forced to work flexibly or take parental leave, but we should enable an environment that equally and fairly gives everyone the opportunity to do so should they wish. Our culture still inherently puts pressure on women to do these things and men not to, so we must have an eye to removing these barriers and move towards equality for everyone.

The unconscious bias which infiltrates promotion and recruitment, the gendered segregation of roles which entrench stereotypes and inhibit productive workplace culture, reports of sexual harassment and unfair gaps in wages all contribute to workplaces which are fundamentally unequal and unfair. Achieving gender equality will not happen overnight, but the pace of change is too slow, as I have said. We need legislation to get there faster. We need the right tools in place to plan, measure and track progress to make change.

Quite simply, this bill is an outstanding bill. It is good law. All Victorians should live in a safe and equal society, with equal access to power, resources and opportunities, and they should be treated with dignity, fairness and respect regardless of their gender. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (15:39): It is with some profound pleasure that I this afternoon rise to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. In reflecting on the elements of this bill and indeed applying the lessons of my own family, it is very, very clear that without legislation like this that has been championed by outstanding members of our government we would have a much, much less fair society. I am fortunate enough to have two boys, Isaac and Noah, and my sister is fortunate to have four girls, Charlot, Violet, Josie and Macy. They are all roughly the same age. I want to see my nieces being given the same opportunities as my sons. I want to see them be able to aspire to the same education opportunities, the same workplace opportunities, the same opportunities to secure well-paid jobs in their workplaces. That is what I want to see for my boys and my nieces.

When I reflect on the outstanding work that has been undertaken both by reformist Labor governments and of course our fantastic trade union movement, I certainly think the substantial gains that have been made today have been made because of those reformist Labor governments and our fantastic trade union movement in this country.

My mum and my father both entered the workplace in the 1960s. My father is a fitter and turner and my mother for most of her working life was a state-enrolled nurse. Those qualifications in so many ways are very, very similar, with the same amount of time to secure the qualifications, yet the earning capacity of my father through his working life was profoundly different to the earning capacity of my mother. Now, that is inherently unfair. They had qualifications that were equal; they had the same opportunities at school; but once they entered the workplace things profoundly changed. I think if I was to do a quick calculation of the earning difference through my mother’s working life as a nurse in comparison to my father’s working life, it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars less in direct earnings and of course a lot less money in terms of superannuation. It is through the tireless work of many women in the Labor caucus and many women in the trade union movement that we have begun that journey to secure far more rights, equal rights, for men and women.

We still have a long way to go. The elements of this bill very much of course focus on what we are doing as a government and as an employer. I think they are profound, they are significant and they will create pathways for equality for women in the Victorian economy. Having said that, though, there is a lot of work that needs to continue to be done with the private sector. In reflecting on the private sector the reality is that there are a lot of listed companies that do not have females represented on boards, that do not have women in managerial positions, and as a consequence of that there is profound unequal opportunities for women in their workplace.

I have been listening very intently to a lot of the contributions of my Labor colleagues. I listened very carefully to the contribution made by the member for Cranbourne. I think her contribution was simply outstanding. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to further champion the rights of women in our society to ensure that the experiences of my nieces, who are in primary school, will as they move through their lives be the same as my sons.

I can recall as a young union official working in the Victorian public sector organising workers. This was in the early 2000s. Through the work that I was undertaking, through enterprise agreement negotiations, through internal human resource policies, almost all of the negotiations from the public sector, from the bosses, if you like, were being undertaken by men. That is changing. Through the work that has been undertaken by the three fabulous ministers for women that our government has had we are making substantial inroads. There is still of course a long, long way to go, but I think this bill very much adds to the work that has been undertaken by successive Labor governments and by the trade union movement, who have been champions of this for many, many decades. What I would like to ultimately see, as was reflected in some earlier comments, is the private sector follow the lead of the Andrews Labor government in the fantastic work that has been undertaken to secure gender equality.

I think this will have profound consequences for our economy, it will have profound consequences for our communities and it will have profound consequences indeed for our homes, for our families and the like. It very much builds on the other public sector and public policy reforms that our government has put in place—the Royal Commission into Family Violence and the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. All of these reforms, all of these public policy issues that our government is working on are very much about lifting people up and providing the same opportunities. It is a profound reform that will make a difference.

It is remarkable how far we have come; it is remarkable how much further we do need to go. As I said earlier, both my parents had qualifications that could be broadly described as equal, yet the take-home pay through their working lives and the superannuation that they have is profoundly different, simply based on the fact that for all of their working lives we have not had gender equality. This bill and the reforms that are being put in place will make a difference.

Mr J BULL (Sunbury) (15:50): I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to debate on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. This is indeed a historic moment in our journey towards gender equality. It is a journey in which we have come so far, but we certainly still do have a long way to travel. In reflecting on notes for this piece of legislation before the house this afternoon I was thinking of when I am holding my eight-month-old daughter, Cleo, and the fact that I want to be able to give her the very best life possible. I am sure like all parents I want her to be safe, to be healthy, to be happy, to be free from worry, stress, fear and shame, and I want her to be equal. I want her to be seen for her values, her attitude, her efforts, her kindness and her decency What I do not want is for her to be treated differently because she is a girl or because she is a woman. I do not want her to be paid less when she does the same work as a man, to have less opportunity, less money, less superannuation and less of what she, as an equal member of our community, as an equal member of our society, is rightfully entitled to. Like all parents—and I hope like all individuals—I want her to be treated equally within our community, within our state and within our nation. This bill takes a significant step in delivering that.

Of course, the Andrews Labor government believes that each and every person within this state should be treated equally and fairly. It is why holistically this government has embarked on a record number of policies, announcements and initiatives that have indeed, I believe, made this state better and fairer for decades and generations to come.

Before I discuss some of the elements of this bill in further detail it is worth looking at our investments in education when it comes to fairness—whether that is three-year-old kinder, whether that is building the Education State, whether it is those significant investments in TAFE or whether it is in health care, critically important investments in our hospitals, in our nurses, in our paramedics and in our doctors, all of which, I believe, stem very much from the core value of fairness. This is what this bill is fundamentally about, as other honourable members have spoken about this afternoon. This is about levelling a playing field that has not been level for a very long time.

This bill delivers on our election commitment to introduce gender equality legislation to eliminate the pay gap within the Victorian public sector. The Gender Equality Bill will apply to Victorian public sector organisations with 50 or more employees, including our public service bodies, public entities, local government, universities, Court Services Victoria and the Office of Public Prosecutions. There are, as has been mentioned by other members this afternoon, more than 300 organisations, or around 11 per cent of the Victorian workforce, that are covered by this legislation.

We are a government that lives our values. Of course there would be little point—if any point—in bringing a bill such as this one through the Parliament, through the house, without reflecting on our own party when it comes to gender equality. I am very proud to say that this government has a gender-equal cabinet and government benches of 48 per cent women. We have achieved gender parity on paid government boards, a commitment we made some years ago. The evidence is clear: when we have gender-equal organisations we get better decisions and that then carries on to better outcomes for our individual communities.

I want to take the opportunity this afternoon, as other members have done, to commend and acknowledge the incredible female MPs in this house but particularly the female members on this side of the house, who I believe each and every day do an outstanding job in representing their local communities, working tirelessly each and every day through schools, through roads and through healthcare services, to ensure that their communities are best represented. I certainly want to give a shout-out to our terrific female caucus members.

I would also like to acknowledge the Minister for Women—my good friend the Minister for Women, who is at the table—and the wonderful work both she and her office have done in bringing this bill to the house. Of course that builds upon the work of the late Fiona Richardson and the member for Sydenham, who have done a tremendous amount of work in this space. The Minister for Women I believe shows each and every day what a powerful contribution looks like and does a wonderful job in her portfolio area.

During the debate this afternoon I think what has been thoroughly enjoyable is listening to the contributions of a number of members on this side of the house who have spoken about women through the course of history that have made significant reforms to their local communities and indeed this state—trailblazers who have changed what was thought to be acceptable into what is right and what is fair. It has been incredibly heartwarming to hear these stories and of course know that there has been so much go into bringing about reform and this progress to make our community and our society more equal and more fair. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those women, many of whom are here today, who have put so much into advancing the rights of women.

This bill seeks to improve gender equality within Victorian government workplaces by requiring organisations to publicly report on their progress against key gender equality indicators such as equal pay, sexual harassment, flexible work, parental leave and career progression practices. They will be required to challenge workplace discrimination—and rightly so—by preparing and implementing gender equality action plans and undertaking gender impact assessments. Defined entities will also need to apply a gendered lens to Victorian government policies, programs and services.

And as other members have mentioned this afternoon, we will of course establish a new public sector gender equality commission, which will effectively be in charge of holding organisations to account. The commissioner will scrutinise the performance against commitments these organisations have made, effectively making sure that the right thing is done, and will of course have the power to call out organisations that have not made real and significant progress over time. They will have the power to issue compliance notices and in cases of breach or non-compliance will refer the matter to VCAT. The commissioner will also have the authority to resolve disputes relating to systemic gender equality issues within any organisation discovered within those enterprise agreements.

Public reporting of outcomes will soon tell all Victorians, and importantly jobseekers, who are the best performers across the public sector, and this continues that constant dialogue of ensuring that the mechanics within this legislation but most importantly the values that underpin this piece of legislation before the house are enforced. The commissioner will set equality targets and quotas, and a range of gender equality targets and quotas may be set. Because of course we know—and I have mentioned this within our ranks—how important it is to make sure that this government is indeed living its values, doing the things that we said we would and continuing to make Victoria a fairer, better, stronger state. This piece of legislation, like many pieces of legislation that we bring to the house, will make a genuine and real difference to the people of Victoria.

Acting Speaker, as you know, the Andrews Labor government is a government of action. We are a government that gets things done. Victorians, I do believe, know that this government builds and delivers on the big-ticket items, whether it is in road and rail or in schools and hospitals. But more important than this, we are government that is driven by fairness. I think that if you are weighing up your values as a government and you are effectively looking at those values on a whiteboard and you have fairness right there in the centre of that board, then that is a good thing. This piece of legislation continues to deliver for each and every community. This is a very important piece of legislation, and we on this side of the house take the responsibility of governing very seriously. So together we send the message to each and every Victorian that under our laws you will be treated equally and fairly. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr FREGON (Mount Waverley) (16:00): I rise also, as have many of my colleagues, to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019. Firstly, I would like to thank the minister at the table for her tireless advocacy for women’s rights and equality. This bill is another important step in bringing our state towards real equality for women and men. I say ‘men’ because if we have inequality for women, we obviously have inequality for men on the other side. In my role in this house and as a bloke we should be working for equality and fairness for all of us, regardless.

In a week where we said goodbye and thank you to the Honourable John Cain, who as we heard in this place earlier in the week did much to bring us towards equality for women, it is a good time to bring in this bill. I think he would have approved, not that I would speak for him of course. That work has continued, and the Andrews Labor government can be proud of the steps that we have already taken. But there is obviously still work to do, and this bill is part of it. I again thank the minister but also the Premier and the whole cabinet and every minister and member who has played a part in bringing us here and will continue to bring us forward.

This bill will improve workplace gender equality across the Victorian public sector, universities and local councils, and through these organisations—considering how policies and programs and services affect and impact people of different genders—we will see this message sent out through our communities of the importance of gender equality. It still surprises me that the gender pay gap in our country is around 14 per cent. You would have thought in this day and age that we would be closer than that. But according to the Victorian Public Sector Commission last year that figure across the Victorian public sector is 11 per cent, and it is still too much. This government’s historic Royal Commission into Family Violence told us that we need to establish a culture of non-violence and gender equality and to shape appropriate attitudes towards women and children. It is important for us in this process of preventing family violence that we not only prevent discrimination but also proactively drive gender equality.

There are some who may shake their heads at this bill. I think, gratefully, there are not that many, to be fair, and hopefully that number is decreasing. Take a look at the government benches in this place and the other and you will quickly see that 48 per cent of our side and our little bay 13 over there are women, and as we have said—and we will keep singing—50 per cent of our cabinet are women. This is because we as a party have openly, proactively driven gender equality within our ranks, and it works. We can see it works. Some others might not be able to see that, but it does.

This bill does not only affect women; it affects everyone. Today we deliver a promise that we will make a difference, and that will make a difference. The outcomes of this will not only benefit women but will make a difference in the lives of everyone in our community. Achieving gender equality will not happen overnight, but it will happen. The pace of change could be faster. We need legislation to help this change happen and the right tools need to be in place to plan and measure and track progress to make that change, and this bill does that.

This bill is intended to support the achievement of workplace gender equality in the Victorian public sector, universities and councils through a variety of measures: contributing to closing the gender pay gap by targeting its key drivers; improving gender equality at all levels of the workforce—it is worth pointing out that a lot of the pay gap is due to the fact that women make up a lot of the lower paid careers in our workplaces; reducing gendered workplace segregation—the idea that we have any segregation in this state is all by itself ridiculous; providing greater availability and uptake of family violence leave, flexible work and parental leave; reducing sexual harassment in the workplace as well as cases of discrimination during pregnancy, parental leave and the return to work; improving the equity in recruitment and promotion practices, and providing greater support for women to reach leadership roles in the same numbers as men.

But it is not just these organisations that will be affected by this bill; the wider community will also benefit from this bill’s requirement that organisations subject to the bill consider the gendered impact of their policies, programs and services that will have an effect and a significant impact on the public that they serve, and that will ensure that they meet community needs.

Now, as the house is well aware, between 2002 and 2010 the people in my district of Mount Waverley, including myself in 2010, were very well represented by the Honourable Maxine Morand, who was the Minister for Women’s Affairs from 2007 to 2010. In August of that year the minister informed the house that when the Bracks-Brumby governments came to power, the percentage of women on government boards was 31 per cent. But at that time, in August 2010, she was very happy to inform the house when she delivered her speech that they had not only reached the target of 40 per cent but had surpassed it. I was very pleased to hear earlier in the debate that that number is now 53 per cent. This result alone has taken a lot of effort over a long time, and our job is not done.

But let us have a list of our ministers for women and women’s affairs, to give them the credit that they are due: the Honourable Sherryl Garbutt; the Honourable Mary Delahunty; our own Minister for Transport Infrastructure; the Honourable Maxine Morand; the Honourable Fiona Richardson; our member for Sydenham, who is sitting in front of me—thank you very much; and of course our current Minister for Women. That is a very, very capable list, and all of these women have made their mark in many ways, but when we think about equality, we should probably say they did not make their mark because they were women; they made their mark and they were women. There was a comment from someone in the other place, something about ‘Let men be men and let women be women’. Well, how about we just let people be people and stop worrying about whether they are women or men or whatever? They are just themselves, and their capability has nothing to do with their gender. Now, there were ministers from the other side, obviously, for women’s affairs, but I will let their speakers mention them.

Something else happened in 2010. We as a country saw our first female Prime Minister. Acting Speaker, as you cannot help but know, because I go on about my kids probably too much, Rebecca and I have a daughter, Sophie. When I first thought of that I was going to say, it was, ‘I have a daughter’, and then I thought, ‘No, I’d better not share that one or I might be in trouble, considering Rebecca did all the work’. Sophie was born on International Women’s Day. In 2010 she was three years old, and I was at home when Julia Gillard became our Prime Minister. I can still remember it. We were both standing in front of the TV, and obviously the news had hit. I do not know why, but I am glad I did—I basically knelt down next to little Soph, and she will not remember it, except that I keep reminding her, and I said, ‘Soph, do you see that woman on the TV? You can do whatever you want to do in this country. There is nothing that you cannot do in your career, in your choices; it is not to do with you being a girl’. And that is the way it should be, and that is the way that I want our state to be so that my daughter’s gender is completely irrelevant to her career prospects, her financial prospects and whatever aspirations she may have—irrelevant. That is why we need equality. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (16:10): Reforming inequality is not a gendered issue; it is a cause for all of us. This is a landmark piece of legislation, an Australian first and a timely reminder of why Labor governments matter and why the labour movement matters. I think it is important to remind the house it was more than half a century ago when the equal pay case was launched, when Bob Hawke, then head of the ACTU, stood and said, ‘We want equal pay for equal work’. We are still not there. It is not going to happen by chance; it is the will and the wit and the effort of so many people. I made the point when we commemorated John Cain, the longest serving Victorian Premier, on how proud I think he would have been of this; the Minister for Planning is here at the table as well. These are emblematic issues. This is what defines the difference. It harks back to the liberating changes that John Cain pioneered simultaneously as Premier and as minister for women, and it defines why the past is never dead and buried; it is not even past. It is about our responsibility to continue to drive this change, because it will not happen by chance; it still has not happened. I mean, it is staggering when you find the gender pay gap still at 9.6 per cent, driven by a number of factors, including unequal workforce participation, discrimination and occupational and industrial segregation. I mean, it is still there.

I want to commend all of the women over the whole period of time that it has taken, from the suffragettes, to the women in the labour movement and to those on the other side of politics who want to make the same commitment—I acknowledge that too—to build that pressure over time and to have affirmative action in the cabinet of Victoria for the first time. These are landmark steps and progress, to have the women who are in the caucus and their experience and, Acting Speaker Couzens, your own experience. I have a particular point about what we are doing as a government and what we need to do to drive even further change and, I think, particularly about some of the other initiatives mandating that 50 per cent of the positions on boards have to be for women. We would all be dead before it happened otherwise; that is just the plain truth. So it has been fantastic how we have done that.

I am also conscious, as I know you are, Acting Speaker, of representing a disadvantaged community with a lot of women who came here as factory fodder. That was the only chance they got—they worked on the assembly lines. My mum was on the assembly lines at Yakka, Ericsson, Denzil Don and Nabisco—they have all gone. How do you get your opportunity? How do you get your chance? This is a big responsibility, and I think it is really important that these reforms continue.

I remember this clearly: even if you are in the land of opportunity, as my late dad always called Australia—and he was right—how do you make those differences? I think a lot of people do not quite understand that you got up at 6, you got the breakfast on the table and you got the kids out at 7 to be on the train line to get to school. Then you had to go and do the afternoon shift from 3 o’clock till 11. When we got a car, Dad would make the dinner. I would hold it on the tray, and we would go and see Mum so she could have a break from the assembly line. It was really lonely for people. People do not understand that.

This is the dignity of women that needs to be fought for and needs to be addressed. I have raised this with the Minister for Women; I want to look at how we actually evolve again for women in these circumstances. One of the issues for them is that all they have is their time and their labour, and their time is crushed from all different areas. I have spoken directly with Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his microfinancing model, and I think this is really important. How does it work? What does he do? It is giving some money for women to start small businesses, to start to be able to invest, to have a go and to be given a better opportunity. And guess what—the result has been outstanding, and it works. Who would have thought? Why don’t we just empower women to have a chance, show their initiative, their creativity and everything? We will look at that in the future as well.

I think these issues and these emblematic causes are in a proud tradition. I do want to acknowledge the minister for bringing this piece of legislation, which has to be driven; her predecessors, including the member for Sydenham here and the late Fiona Richardson; and all the other women who have come before, as has been said—Joan Kirner, the first woman Premier of Victoria, Mary Delahunty and Sherryl Garbutt. It is an honour; the rollcall is highly distinguished—legislators, advocates and people who made huge differences. You think of Julia Gillard rising to be Australia’s first woman Prime Minister as well.

So this is it: we see that you can—and so you should—have the opportunity to have any position in this country. That is what we are about fundamentally, and Australians get that, so this is another step in how we do it. Again it goes to: what is the mechanism that is being used? Well, we are looking at the public sector and public service bodies, public entities, special bodies, councils, Court Services Victoria, universities and the Office of Public Prosecutions. These are entities of 50 or more employees, to be determined by headcount. The threshold of 50 employees ensures an appropriate balance is struck between achieving the objectives of the bill and encouraging organisational change and ensuring a reasonable and achievable reporting burden.

It does take me back to the way that John Cain was clever about using the power over public land, over Crown land, to actually remove discrimination against women—the white line, the memberships—so that they could actually get in the door. That is all women really want. They just want to get in the door, have a chance, have a fair go and get the opportunity. So I think for a whole range of reasons this piece of legislation resonates. It is an important next step in this long journey for equality, equal pay and equal opportunity, and I think that it is extremely timely given the resonance with the commemoration of John Cain and all of the key women who influenced him as well. The speech that was made at his memorial service was also an outstanding speech, defining all that he had done.

This is how change occurs. It is the critical proposition about driving how we continue, just opening the way and showing that, yes, these are the leaders who were there. It is what I say to my daughter, Tess, if I can just refer to her on this, that the next generation of women coming through are outstanding for education. They see the opportunity. They are not going to be waiting; they are going to be driving the change and leading at all the different levels. I think that as a Labor government for us to continue to do this is really important and we should use the mechanisms that we have.

We still have 65 per cent of women in Victoria aged 20 to 74 participating in the workforce compared to 79 per cent of men, leaving a percentage gap of 14 per cent. Women currently spend almost twice as much time undertaking caring or domestic duties, and women are still under-represented in decision-making roles across our community, which contributes to workplace cultures and norms which inherently disadvantage. We know that more than half of working women are likely to face gender discrimination, workplace violence or sexual harassment. This insight is staggering, that this still continues, so I want to commend the Premier, the cabinet and particularly on this day all of the women for all that they have done and for all it has taken. We cannot thank you enough. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr FOWLES (Burwood) (16:20): It is my very great pleasure to make a contribution to this very important bill, a bill that ought to attract the attention and enthusiastic support of all members in this place. I would like to thank too the Minister for Women for her very hard work in bringing this bill to the house, her outstanding consultation work and her commitment to these issues.

When speaking last or, I think, second last on a bill, I think it is appropriate to perhaps reflect on some of the contributions made on the matter. I thought the member for Lowan made a thoughtful contribution to this debate, and I thank her for that, and I have listened with interest to the outstanding contributions made by members of my party, including the members for Macedon, Footscray, Northcote and Sydenham—some terrific contributions. But once again we find ourselves wondering just where the Liberal Party is on these matters, and I would suggest it is nowhere to be seen. I frankly do not know what is worse, opposing the bill or saying nothing at all, except of course, as the member for Ferntree Gully managed earlier, just running down the contributions of the members for Macedon and Yan Yean—both of them, of course, women—with spurious points of order, using the procedures and tools of this place to cut short the fine contributions of Labor women on this bill.

I do point out that there is a difference between not opposing a bill and not being opposed to a bill, because I think that difference can easily be inferred from the conduct of some members in this place. It can easily be inferred that whilst they might not be opposing a bill in the formal sense of this place they are nonetheless opposed to its content—not all, I am sure, but many. When we think about gender and the need for gender equality, though it might be opposed by people in this place and is quite clearly opposed by certain members of the other place, I reflect back on the comments I made in my first contribution in this Parliament. They reflected that one only needs to glance around an airline members lounge or city restaurants at lunchtime on a Friday or the boardrooms of corporate Australia to see that we remain an unequal society. It is, I would think, self-evident perhaps, and to not do something about that is frankly a dereliction of one’s duty as an elected representative and a public official in our society.

Being a successful man in an equal world does not mean parading the fact that you have a mother or sister or daughters like it is some grand achievement rather than an accident of genetics, but we often hear language like that saying, ‘Well, I’ve got daughters, I’ve got sisters, I’ve got a mother’. I think universally we share that fact.

A member: It depends.

Mr FOWLES: Well, for all but the aliens, perhaps. Claiming a love of women does not remove the gender blinkers from our eyes, and there are differences. Twenty per cent of all women say they have experienced sexual violence—20 per cent. Every week in Australia a woman is murdered by a current or former partner. These are breathtaking statistics.

A member: Every week.

Mr FOWLES: This is every week. These are statistics that warrant our active intervention. I am proud to be part of a government that is actively intervening, because we know that gendered violence has at its heart inequality. Gendered violence has at its heart a sense by the perpetrators of that violence that somehow men are better or superior to women—that women are inferior. It is an attitude that is grounded in a century that is not this one. It is an attitude that is scarily still perpetuated at the very upper echelons of Australian society.

Just this week a fascinating report was released by Amelia Loughland, and it stunningly found that in the High Court of Australia—the High Court of Australia—female judges were far more likely to be interrupted than their male colleagues. In the High Court! More significantly it found that this rate of interruption has increased since the time of the first female chief justice. So even at the pinnacle of their legal careers there is embedded bias towards male judicial authority and against female judicial authority. We need to actually bring unconscious bias training to the highest court in the land because what we see is, one, a very, very low percentage of advocates in the High Court being women and, two, a very, very high percentage—even if you take the chief justice out of it, because the chief justice as the traffic controller of proceedings necessarily has to get involved in more of the interrupting—a dramatically disproportionate number of interruptions coming from male advocates over the top of female justices of the High Court. It is staggering that that could be the case today.

I am conscious that we bring this bill before the house in the week that we celebrated the life of John Cain. I will not repeat my contribution to the condolence motion save to raise one matter, which is the change to club memberships—the John Cain signature special. His actions and the actions of his government put an end to gender discrimination at the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Victoria Racing Club and a host of other clubs that did not afford women the same rights as men. He did it without even the need for a statute. After 27 long years of Liberal rule, in the early 1980s John Cain and Labor brought Victoria’s sporting life into the 20th century. It was long overdue, and it points again to the proud record that Labor governments have on these matters and the proud record that Labor governments have on advancing these issues, on caring about these issues and on responding both administratively and legislatively to these problems.

The contrast with others could not be more stark. I think particularly of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s time as the minister for women. I will just say that again because it jars, doesn’t it? As soon as you say the words you sort of go, ‘Hang on, sorry—surely not’. Yes, Prime Minister Tony Abbott was the minister for women in the Abbott government. Outstanding! One might reflect on Julie Bishop’s views about that. When she was the first female foreign affairs minister she said that she was frequently asked by men, and only by men—when she was first appointed to cabinet as the Minister for Education, Science and Training as well as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues—‘Why isn’t there a minister for men’s issues?’. Her thoughts were, ‘I thought the answer so self-evident that it didn’t require a response’. Fast-forward to 2013, she was back in cabinet, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the only woman—the only woman—in that 19-member cabinet, and the Prime Minister appointed himself the minister for women’s issues. She said this:

Some seven years on I thought it was quite clear—

Mr Angus: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, just on relevance, I think the member has well and truly strayed way away. We let him get away with a few federal references, but he is clearly just continuing on and on, and I ask you to draw him back to the bill at hand, please.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Couzens): I do not uphold the point of order, but I ask the member to keep to the content of the bill.

Mr FOWLES: Allow me to finish the quote from the former foreign minister, because I think it does relate to gender equality. It even uses the words ‘gender equality’. Here it is. The member for Forest Hill might not want to hear it, but this is a bit of tough love from Julie Bishop:

Some seven years on I thought it was quite clear that we have—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, in relation to the member’s contribution, he is deliberately not adhering to your orders around coming back to the content of the bill. He said he would continue what he was saying. Therefore I do ask that he does obey your order. You have asked the member to come back to the content of the bill. I wish you to reiterate that, in respect for you, Chair.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Couzens): I do not uphold the point of order. I think the member is referring to gender equity, which is what the title of this bill is, so I ask the member to continue.

Mr FOWLES: In my 10 seconds left, Julie Bishop said:

Some seven years on I thought it was quite clear that we have some way to go in addressing the issues of gender equality and discrimination—

‘some way to go’.

Mr EREN (Lara) (16:30): I am delighted to be able to speak on this very important bill. I am delighted to be part of a government that has groundbreaking historical bills that come before the house, and this is one of them. There is no question: the Andrews Labor government indeed have, over the past six years, brought legislation into this place which matters to the wider community, and this is one such bill. We are the government that actually called for a royal commission into family violence. As politicians and governments we do not like to ask questions we do not know the answer to. We genuinely did not know, but we genuinely wanted some answers. Two hundred and twenty-seven recommendations came out of that inquiry, and of course we backed that up with $2.9 billion just to—

Mr Wynne: How much?

Mr EREN: It was $2.9 billion, Minister. That goes to show that we are serious about making sure that there is equality in our community. And when you consider that, according to the census of 2016, 50.9 per cent of our population is female, of course we need to recognise that and make our state the fairest state in the nation, as we have the fastest growing population, we have the strongest economy and we are the sporting capital. All of these titles come because of the diverse community that we have in this state.

I know that this topic has been covered very eloquently by our side. Unfortunately there have been no speakers on the other side other than the lead speaker, which is a shame. It just goes to show the contempt that they have for legislation like this that comes before the house.

I want to talk about our advancements in the last six years in relation to women in sport, and of course we had—

Mr Wynne: Yes, an area you would know a bit about.

Mr EREN: Absolutely, Minister. As you would know, we have invested a fair bit of money into women in sport. Our government has made groundbreaking investments into women in sport, and I will systematically outline to the house those investments that we have made in the last six years.

I am proudly saying again, as a member of the Andrews Labor government, that whenever we had a federal sports ministers meeting, every other state and territory would look at us to see what we were doing in this state to advance women in sport, and I am very proud of that. Of course the baton has been handed to the new minister, the member for Keysborough, and he is doing a great job as well.

Before I get onto the substance of what I want to talk about today, I want to congratulate my very good friend Fiona Richardson, a former Minister for Women, who obviously set the building blocks for what we have got here today and who handed it on to the member for Sydenham, who handed the baton on to the current minister, the member for Dandenong. All have done a spectacular job in terms of advancing the cause of women in this state, and I want to congratulate all of them for having such a bill before the house.

As I have indicated, we have invested record amounts of money into women in sport, and there are things that we have done as a result of the women and girls in sport and recreation inquiry, which was chaired by Richmond Football Club president, Peggy O’Neal. I am a big fan of Peggy O’Neal. She is the only female president of an AFL club in the nation, and she has done a great job in presenting us with a document which will make our state fairer when it comes to women in sport.

One of the first things that we did—again this is groundbreaking—is we introduced an Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, and Bridie O’Donnell is heading up that within the department to have a look at the inequities that existed in the funding models of previous governments.

Predominantly sporting clubs have been dominated to a certain extent by men; it is not as much as before but they are still dominated by men. My wife and I have five children; we have four boys and one girl. It has been quite easy to accommodate our boys in sporting clubs and associations in the regions that we have lived in, but it was really, really hard to access good sporting facilities for my daughter, who wanted to play football—Aussie Rules. There were no girls teams, and she was only 12 at the time. She had to get changed at home. She could not shower after the game. She was in a boys team. Things have dramatically changed since then, and we have got record amounts of women’s teams and girls teams now in this state, which is wonderful to see.

That was unfair. I thought that was inherently unfair that our boys could have access to all of these facilities and yet our daughter could not. So that resonated with me, and you have got to take the opportunity when the opportunity presents itself. When I was the minister, of course with the help of government and the Treasury, we implemented a fair few things in relation to women in sport.

We have a dedicated female sports coordinator within Sport and Recreation Victoria. We have also said that by working with state sporting associations we would like to achieve 40 per cent female board membership by July 2019, with an expectation of 50 per cent by 2024. Many sporting boardrooms lack the balance and the skills that females and women have brought to the board table, and of course we are very proud currently to see so many boards that have taken up this opportunity to advance not only their sport but indeed their boards by having more women on their boards.

Another groundbreaking initiative is the Change Our Game initiative, which we announced in November 2016, which encourages the sporting sector to challenge gender stereotypes and encourage more women and girls to reach their full potential. Of course we were the only state to have a dedicated fund for female-friendly facilities, which we built right across the state. Over 100 clubs now have female-friendly facilities, and the only way you can get women and girls—

Ms Addison interjected.

Mr EREN: The member for Wendouree knows the importance of the investments that we have made, and we have certainly made a lot of them around the state. Certainly there are a lot more women and girls participating in sport because of that change that we made in our funding policies. And if you did not tick the box as a sporting club to come to government wanting money, we said, ‘Well, are you going to be female-friendly? Because if you are, you will go right up to the top of the ladder’. And so that is how we have made some of the changes that needed to be made.

The minister at the table, the Minister for Planning, would know this initiative very well: the inner-city netball program. As I indicated earlier about population growth, there are a lot of people wanting to play netball and we did not have enough courts. After discussions with Fiona Richardson, the $9.6 million inner-city netball program delivered 64 netball courts across the municipalities of Darebin, Melbourne, Moreland and Yarra.

There is the special investment that we made: the State Netball and Hockey Centre. I remember the CEO of Netball Victoria, Rosie King, when I rang her about the good news of the $64 million investment that we were making in the netball and hockey centre in Parkville; she was actually crying over the phone. This was the biggest investment of any government in the nation ever in women’s sport. That was just fantastic.

As the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, where possible when we were having a major sporting event we insisted that there was a female curtain-raiser incorporated into that event. When the Socceroos played, we wanted the Matildas to play. We secured the Women’s T20 World Cup final, which will take place at the MCG for the first time ever. We will have the women’s final at the MCG on International Women’s Day in 2020. Hopefully we will fill that stadium, and I am fairly confident we will.

Consistent with other codes like soccer with the Matildas and the rugby sevens, there is equal prize money for the Victorian Open happening at Thirteenth Beach over the weekend. The Australian Open—equal prize money. There is the Southern Stars Australian women’s cricket team. We are increasing women’s participation in cycling, and we have recently had the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

Outcomes for women start with attitudes towards women. Some of our most inspiring leaders in sport are female, and we want to give the next generation an opportunity to become the next trailblazers. Maybe it is time to have the next minister for sport be female. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Planning) (16:39): Regretfully, I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.

Ordered that debate be adjourned until later this day.